Control method, communication terminal, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, and information providing method

ABSTRACT

A method includes causing a computer of a communication terminal to perform a process including acquiring, in response to receipt of a beacon signal from a vending machine, identification information of the vending machine and type information of drinks in the vending machine from the vending machine; transmitting a user ID of a user of the communication terminal to a first server that securely manages personal information including preference information on drinks of the user; acquiring from the first server, the preference information of the user corresponding to the user ID; acquiring weather information of a current location of the communication terminal; generating, based on the acquired pieces of information, a push notification screen that recommends at least one drink that matches a preference of the user indicated by the preference information in relation to weather indicated by the weather information; and displaying the push notification screen.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a method executed in a communicationterminal, and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-174320discloses a technique of displaying food and drink provided by a vendingmachine on a display of a mobile terminal to enable the food and drinkprovided by the vending machine to be purchased via the mobile terminal.

International Publication No. 2018/042668 discloses a product purchaseassistance system including an acquiring unit that acquires a list ofproducts sold by a plurality of vending machines within a predeterminedrange from a mobile terminal, and a display control unit that performscontrol for displaying product information on the products included inthe list on a display of the mobile terminal.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-203952discloses a vending machine that changes in real time products to besold to products that match an external environment (such as the seasonor time) and a state of a purchaser (such as the gender, age group, orbody temperature).

SUMMARY

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides further improvementin the related art described above.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature a methodexecuted in a communication terminal, the communication terminalincluding a user ID for identifying a user of the communicationterminal, the method including causing a computer of the communicationterminal to perform a process including: acquiring, in response toreceipt of a beacon signal from a vending machine of drinks, from thevending machine by using short-range wireless communication, i)identification information for identifying the vending machine and ii)type information indicating types of a plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine; transmitting the user ID to a first server thatsecurely manages personal information including preference informationon drinks of the user of the communication terminal, wherein thepreference information on drinks of the user includes information ongoods purchased by the user at a sales site managed by a businessoperator affiliated with a management operator of the first server;acquiring from the first server, the preference information on drinks ofthe user corresponding to the user ID when it is confirmed at the firstserver that the acquisition of the preference information on drinks ofthe user is permitted by the user; acquiring weather information of acurrent location of the communication terminal via a network; generatinga push notification screen based on the identification information, thetype information, the preference information, and the weatherinformation, wherein the push notification screen recommends at leastone drink that matches a preference of the user indicated by thepreference information in relation to weather indicated by the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal, fromamong the plurality of drinks stored in the vending machine indicated bythe identification information; and displaying the push notificationscreen on a display of the communication terminal.

According to the aspect described above, further improvement can beachieved.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overview of aninformation infrastructure of a vending machine management systemaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a specific configurationof the vending machine management system according to the embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a beacon signal used in short-rangewireless communication performed between a communication terminal and avending machine;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table indicating arelationship between a beacon identifier (ID) and identificationinformation for identifying a vending machine;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table indicating arelationship between a beacon ID and identification information of avending machine;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of short-rangewireless communication using a beacon signal;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in the vending machine management systemin a first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a pushnotification screen;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a pushnotification screen;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between alocation of the communication terminal and a location of the vendingmachine;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a pushnotification screen;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an individualpurchase menu;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which a userof the communication terminal selects a drink to be purchased from theindividual purchase menu;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which theuser of the communication terminal confirms purchase of the drink;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which theuser of the communication terminal acquires the purchased drink;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofinformation stored in a memory of the communication terminal when abeacon signal is received;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofpurchase history information for each user stored in a memory of a firstserver;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofpreference information included in personal information of the userstored in the memory of the first server;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofweather information of a current location of the communication terminal;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofa history of the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a drink determination process;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work table used in thedrink determination process;

FIGS. 23A and 23B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a second embodiment;

FIGS. 24A and 24B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a third embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a biological informationtable;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a drink determinationprocess;

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work table used in thedrink determination process illustrated in FIG. 26 ;

FIGS. 28A and 28B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a fourth embodiment;

FIGS. 29A and 29B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a fifth embodiment;

FIGS. 30A and 30B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a sixth embodiment;

FIGS. 31A and 31B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a seventh embodiment;

FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a drink determinationprocess;

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work table used in thedrink determination process illustrated in FIG. 32 ;

FIGS. 34A and 34B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin an eighth embodiment;

FIGS. 35A and 35B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a ninth embodiment; and

FIGS. 36A and 36B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of anoverview of a process performed in a vending machine management systemin a tenth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS Underlying Knowledge Forming Basis of the PresentDisclosure

In the related art, a vending machine merely passively sells a productin response to an access from a user. For example, even if a vendingmachine sells a product desired by a user at a timing when the userpasses in front of the vending machine, the product is not sold to theuser unless the user accesses the vending machine.

In the related art described above, the vending machine merely passivelysells a product in response to an access from a user. That is, thevending machine is unable to actively access the user.

The present disclosure has been made on the basis of such knowledge, andprovides a technique for allowing a vending machine to actively access auser in response to a push notification and to recommend, to the user, aproduct which the user presumably desires at a timing when the userpasses in front of the vending machine.

A method according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is amethod executed in a communication terminal, the communication terminalincluding a user ID for identifying a user of the communicationterminal, the method including causing a computer of the communicationterminal to perform a process including: acquiring, in response toreceipt of a beacon signal from a vending machine of drinks, from thevending machine by using short-range wireless communication, i)identification information for identifying the vending machine and ii)type information indicating types of a plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine; transmitting the user ID to a first server thatsecurely manages personal information including preference informationon drinks of the user of the communication terminal, wherein thepreference information on drinks of the user includes information ongoods purchased by the user at a sales site managed by a businessoperator affiliated with a management operator of the first server;acquiring from the first server, the preference information on drinks ofthe user corresponding to the user ID when it is confirmed at the firstserver that the acquisition of the preference information on drinks ofthe user is permitted by the user; acquiring weather information of acurrent location of the communication terminal via a network; generatinga push notification screen, based on the identification information, thetype information, the preference information, and the weatherinformation, wherein the push notification screen recommends at leastone drink that matches a preference of the user indicated by thepreference information in relation to weather indicated by the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal, fromamong the plurality of drinks stored in the vending machine indicated bythe identification information; and displaying the push notificationscreen on a display of the communication terminal.

The “weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information corresponding to an installedlocation of the vending machine indicated by the identificationinformation.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen that recommendsat least one drink that matches the preference of the user is displayedon the display of the communication terminal of the user in response tothe user merely passing in front of the vending machine, irrespective ofa purchase intention of the user.

A purchase menu from the vending machine is not displayed but merely thepush notification screen for displaying the purchase menu is displayed.Thus, irksomeness caused by the purchase menu from the vending machinebeing displayed irrespective of the absence of the purchase intention ofthe user can be reduced.

The push notification screen is generated by taking into account thepreference information on drinks of the user and the weather informationof the current location of the communication terminal. Thus, a drink canbe recommended that matches the preference of the user at a timing whenthe user passes in front of or is near the vending machine.

When the user purchases the recommended drink, the user displays thepurchase menu according to their will. Thus, the user takes theinitiative in determining whether to display the purchase menu.

Thus, a drink can be recommended that matches the preference of the userat a timing when the user passes in front of or is near the vendingmachine while reducing irksomeness caused by the purchase menu of drinksbeing displayed on the display of the communication terminal against theintention of the user.

According to this aspect, the preference information on drinks of theuser of the communication terminal is acquired from the first serverthat stores the personal information of the user. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the preference information on drinksof the user in the communication terminal can be omitted.

In the method described above, the push notification screen may be usedfor displaying, on the display of the communication terminal, a purchasemenu that allows the at least one drink to be purchased from among theplurality of drinks stored in the vending machine.

According to this aspect, a user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can use the push notificationscreen to display, on the display, the purchase menu that allows theuser to purchase the at least one drink that matches the preference ofthe user. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can quickly purchase the at least one drinkthat matches the preference of the user.

In the method described above, the process may further includegenerating, in response to the push notification screen displayed on thedisplay of the communication terminal being selected, an individualpurchase menu for the user, based on the type information, thepreference information, and the weather information, wherein theindividual purchase menu displays drinks that match the preference ofthe user indicated by the preference information in according to anorder matching the preference of the user in relation to the weatherindicated by the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal, from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine indicated by the identification information; anddisplaying the individual purchase menu on the display of thecommunication terminal.

The “weather at the current location of the communication terminal”includes weather corresponding to the installed location of the vendingmachine indicated by the identification information.

According to this aspect, by selecting the push notification screen, theuser who wishes to purchase a drink after viewing the push notificationscreen can display, on the display, the individual purchase menu thatdisplays drinks that match the preference of the user in according to anorder matching the preference in relation to the weather at the currentlocation. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can browse the drinks that match thepreference of the user under the weather at that time in according tothe order matching the preference of the user and purchase any of thedrinks.

In the method described above, the process may further includedisplaying, on the display on which the push notification screen isdisplayed, a direction indicating a transmission direction of the beaconsignal transmitted from the vending machine.

According to this aspect, the direction indicating the transmissiondirection of the beacon signal transmitted from the vending machine isdisplayed on the display on which the push notification screen isdisplayed. Thus, the user of the communication terminal can easily graspthe direction in which the vending machine that sells the drinkrecommended in the push notification screen is present.

In the method described above, the process may further includedisplaying, on the display on which the individual purchase menu isdisplayed, a direction indicating a transmission direction of the beaconsignal transmitted from the vending machine.

According to this aspect, the direction indicating the transmissiondirection of the beacon signal transmitted from the vending machine isdisplayed on the display on which the individual purchase menu isdisplayed. Thus, the user of the communication terminal can easily knowthe direction in which the vending machine storing the drinks displayedin the individual purchase menu is present.

In the method described above, the process may further include receivinga beacon signal from the vending machine; and erasing the display of thepush notification screen after receipt of the beacon signal is notdetected for a predetermined time.

According to this aspect, if receipt of a beacon signal from the vendingmachine is not detected for the predetermined time, the displayed pushnotification screen is erased. Thus, when the predetermined time elapsessince the user moves to a place where the beacon signal is notreceivable and the user presumably does not wish to purchase any drinkfrom the vending machine, it can be avoided that the push notificationscreen that recommends a drink is kept uselessly displayed on thedisplay.

In the method described above, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal may be acquired from a secondserver that stores the weather information.

The “weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information corresponding to the installedlocation of the vending machine indicated by the identificationinformation. The “second server that stores the weather information”includes the first server that stores, as the personal information ofthe user, a history of the weather information of the current locationof the communication terminal owned by the user.

According to this aspect, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal is acquired from the secondserver that stores the weather information. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal in the communicationterminal can be omitted.

In the method described above, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal may include at least one of atemperature, a humidity, a heat index, a solar radiation, or a weathertype.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen is generated bytaking into account the preference information on drinks of the user ofthe communication terminal and at least one of the temperature, thehumidity, the heat index, the solar radiation, or the weather type atthe current location of the communication terminal. Thus, a drink can berecommended that matches the preference of the user in relation to atleast one of the temperature, the humidity, the heat index, the solarradiation, or the weather type at the timing when the user passes infront of the vending machine.

In the method described above, the acquiring of the identificationinformation and the type information from the vending machine mayinclude acquiring of stock information indicating quantities of stock ofthe plurality of drinks stored in the vending machine, and thegenerating of the push notification screen may include generating thepush notification screen also using the stock information.

The present disclosure can also be implemented as a program that causesa computer to execute each characteristic configuration included in themethod according to the first aspect described above, or as acommunication terminal that operates based on this program. Obviously,such a computer program can be distributed via a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium such as a compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM) or via a communication network such as the Internet.

A method according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is acontrol method executed in a communication terminal, the methodincluding causing a computer of the communication terminal to perform aprocess including: acquiring, in response to receipt of a first beaconsignal from a first vending machine of drinks, from the first vendingmachine by using short-range wireless communication, i) firstidentification information for identifying the first vending machine andii) first type information indicating types of a first group of drinksstored in the first vending machine; acquiring, in response to receiptof a second beacon signal from a second vending machine of drinks, fromthe second vending machine by using short-range wireless communication,i) second identification information for identifying the second vendingmachine and ii) second type information indicating types of a secondgroup of drinks stored in the second vending machine; transmitting auser ID for identifying a user of the communication terminal to a firstserver that securely manages personal information including preferenceinformation on drinks of the user of the communication terminal, whereinthe preference information on drinks of the user includes information ongoods purchased by the user at a sales site managed by a businessoperator affiliated with a management operator of the first server;acquiring from the first server, the preference information on drinks ofthe user corresponding to the user ID, when it is confirmed at the firstserver determines that the acquisition of the preference information ondrinks of the user is permitted by the user; acquiring weatherinformation of a current location of the communication terminal via anetwork; generating a push notification screen, based on the firstidentification information, the first type information, the secondidentification information, the second type information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information, wherein the push notificationscreen recommends at least one drink that matches a preference of theuser indicated by the preference information in relation to weatherindicated by the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal, from among the first group of drinks stored inthe first vending machine indicated by the first identificationinformation and the second group of drinks stored in the second vendingmachine indicated by the second identification information; anddisplaying the push notification screen on a display of thecommunication terminal.

The “weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information corresponding to an installedlocation of the vending machine indicated by the identificationinformation.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen that recommendsat least one drink that matches the preference of the user is displayedon the display of the communication terminal of the user in response tothe user merely passing in front of the first vending machine and thesecond vending machine that respectively sell the first group of drinksand the second group of drinks and are installed adjacently to or inproximity to each other, irrespective of a purchase intention of theuser.

A first purchase menu from the first vending machine of the first groupof drinks and a second purchase menu from the second vending machine ofthe second group of drinks are not displayed but merely the pushnotification screen for recommending purchase is displayed. Thus,irksomeness caused by the first purchase menu and the second purchasemenu being displayed irrespective of the absence of the purchaseintention of the user can be reduced.

The push notification screen is generated by taking into account thepreference information on drinks of the user and the weather informationof the current location of the communication terminal or the installedlocation of the vending machine. Thus, a drink can be recommended thatmatches the preference of the user at a timing when the user passes infront of or is near the first vending machine and the second vendingmachine from among both the first group of drinks stored in the firstvending machine and the second group of drinks stored in the secondvending machine.

When the user purchases the recommended drink, the user displays thefirst purchase menu and the second purchase menu according to theirwill. Thus, the user takes the initiative in determining whether todisplay these purchase menus.

Thus, a drink can be recommended that matches the preference of the userat a timing when the user passes in front of or is near the firstvending machine and the second vending machine that respectively sellthe first group of drinks and the second group of drinks and areinstalled in proximity to each other, while reducing irksomeness causedby the purchase menu of drinks being displayed on the display of thecommunication terminal against the intention of the user.

In the method described above, the push notification screen may be usedfor displaying, on the display of the communication terminal, a purchasemenu that allows the at least one drink to be purchased from among thefirst group of drinks stored in the first vending machine and the secondgroup of drinks stored in the second vending machine.

According to this aspect, a user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can use the push notificationscreen to display, on the display, the purchase menu that allows theuser to purchase the at least one drink that matches the preference ofthe user from among the first group of drinks stored in the firstvending machine and the second group of drinks stored in the secondvending machine. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can quickly purchase the at leastone drink that matches the preference of the user without any effort todisplay the individual purchase menu from the vending machine.

In the method described above, the process may further includegenerating, when the push notification screen displayed on the displayof the communication terminal is selected, an individual purchase menufor the user, based on the first type information, the second typeinformation, the preference information, and the weather information,wherein the individual purchase menu being a menu displays drinks thatmatch the preference of the user indicated by the preference informationin according to an order matching the preference of the user in relationto the weather indicated by the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal, from among the first group ofdrinks stored in the first vending machine indicated by the firstidentification information and the second group of drinks stored in thesecond vending machine indicated by the second identificationinformation; and displaying the individual purchase menu on the displayof the communication terminal.

According to this aspect, by selecting the push notification screen, theuser who wishes to purchase a drink after viewing the push notificationscreen can display, on the display, the individual purchase menu thatdisplays drinks that match the preference of the user in according to anorder matching the preference in relation to the weather at the currentlocation. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can purchase a drink that matches thepreference of the user under the weather at that time while beingsensible of the order of the degree of matching the preference of theuser.

In the method described above, the process may further includedisplaying, on the display on which the push notification screen isdisplayed, at least one of a first direction indicating a transmissiondirection of the first beacon signal transmitted from the first vendingmachine or a second direction indicating a transmission direction of thesecond beacon signal transmitted from the second vending machine.

According to this aspect, at least one of the first direction indicatingthe transmission direction of the first beacon signal transmitted fromthe first vending machine or the second direction indicating thetransmission direction of the second beacon signal transmitted from thesecond vending machine is displayed on the display on which the pushnotification screen is displayed. Thus, the user of the communicationterminal can easily know the direction in which at least one of thefirst vending machine or the second vending machine recommended in thepush notification screen is present. The user can also easily grasp thedirection of the vending machine storing the drink recommended in thepush notification screen.

In the method described above, when one drink is displayed in the pushnotification screen, a direction indicating a transmission direction ofa beacon signal transmitted from the vending machine storing the onedrink may be displayed together with the one drink.

According to this aspect, the user can easily know the direction of thevending machine storing the drink recommended in the push notificationscreen.

In the method described above, the process may further include, when onedrink is selected using the individual purchase menu displayed on thedisplay, displaying on the display on which the individual purchase menuis displayed, a direction indicating one vending machine storing the onedrink among the first vending machine and the second vending machine,based on a transmission direction of the first beacon signal or thesecond beacon signal transmitted from the one vending machine.

According to this aspect, when one drink is selected using theindividual purchase menu, the direction indication indicating the onevending machine storing the one drink among the first vending machineand the second vending machine is displayed on the display on which theindividual purchase menu is displayed. Thus, the user of thecommunication terminal can easily grasp the direction in which thevending machine storing the one drink selected using the individualpurchase menu is present.

In the method described above, the acquiring of the first identificationinformation and the first type information from the first vendingmachine may include acquiring of first stock information indicatingquantities of stock of the first group of drinks stored in the firstvending machine, the acquiring of the second identification informationand the second type information from the second vending machine mayinclude acquiring of second stock information indicating quantities ofstock of the second group of drinks stored in the second vendingmachine, and the generating of the push notification screen may includegenerating of the push notification screen also using the first stockinformation and the second stock information.

The present disclosure can also be implemented as a program that causesa computer to execute each characteristic configuration included in thecontrol method according to the second aspect described above, or as acommunication terminal that operates based on this program. Obviously,such a computer program can be distributed via a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or via acommunication network such as the Internet.

A method according to a third aspect of the present disclosure is amethod for a vending machine management system that manages stockinformation for a vending machine of drinks, the information providingmethod including: acquiring, from a communication terminal via anetwork, i) a user ID for identifying a user of the communicationterminal, ii) identification information for identifying the vendingmachine, and iii) type information indicating types of a plurality ofdrinks stored in the vending machine, wherein ii) the identificationinformation and iii) the type information are acquired in thecommunication terminal from the vending machine by using short-rangewireless communication in response to receipt of a beacon signal fromthe vending machine; transmitting the user ID to a first server thatsecurely manages personal information including preference informationon drinks of the user of the communication terminal, wherein thepreference information on drinks of the user includes information ongoods purchased by the user at a sales site managed by a businessoperator affiliated with a management operator of the first server;acquiring from the first server, the preference information on drinks ofthe user corresponding to the user ID when it is confirmed at the firstserver determines that the acquisition of the preference information ondrinks of the user is permitted by the user; acquiring weatherinformation of a current location of the communication terminal via thenetwork; generating information of a push notification screen, based onthe identification information, the type information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information, wherein the push notificationscreen recommends at least one drink that matches a preference of theuser indicated by the preference information in relation to weatherindicated by the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal, from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine indicated by the identification information; andoutputting the information of the push notification screen to thecommunication terminal to display the push notification screen on adisplay of the communication terminal.

The “weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information corresponding to an installedlocation of the vending machine indicated by the identificationinformation.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen that recommendsat least one drink that matches the preference of the user is displayedon the display of the communication terminal of the user in response tothe user merely passing in front of or being near the vending machine ofdrinks, irrespective of a purchase intention of the user.

A purchase menu from the vending machine of drinks is not displayed butmerely the push notification screen for displaying the purchase menu isdisplayed. Thus, irksomeness caused by the purchase menu from thevending machine being displayed irrespective of the absence of thepurchase intention of the user can be reduced.

The push notification screen is generated by taking into account thepreference information on drinks of the user and the weather informationof the current location of the communication terminal (or the installedlocation of the vending machine). Thus, a drink can be recommended thatmatches the preference of the user at a timing when the user passes infront of or is near the vending machine.

When the user purchases the recommended drink, the user displays thepurchase menu according to their will. Thus, the user takes theinitiative in determining whether to display the purchase menu.

Thus, a drink can be recommended that matches the preference of the userat a timing when the user passes in front of or is near the vendingmachine while reducing irksomeness caused by the purchase menu of drinksbeing displayed on the display of the communication terminal against theintention of the user.

According to this aspect, the preference information on drinks of theuser of the communication terminal is acquired from the first serverthat stores the personal information of the user. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the preference information on drinksof the user in the communication terminal can be omitted.

In the method described above, the push notification screen may be usedfor displaying, on the display of the communication terminal, a purchasemenu that allows the at least one drink to be purchased from among theplurality of drinks stored in the vending machine.

According to this aspect, a user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can use the push notificationscreen to display, on the display, the purchase menu that allows theuser to purchase the at least one drink that matches the preference ofthe user. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can quickly purchase the at least one drinkthat matches the preference of the user.

The method described above may further include acquiring, from thecommunication terminal, information indicating that the pushnotification screen displayed on the display is selected; generatinginformation of an individual purchase menu for the user, based on thetype information, the preference information, and the weatherinformation, wherein the individual purchase menu for the user displaysdrinks that match the preference of the user indicated by the preferenceinformation in according to an order matching the preference of the userin relation to the weather indicated by the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal, from among the pluralityof drinks stored in the vending machine indicated by the identificationinformation; and outputting the information of the individual purchasemenu to the communication terminal to display the individual purchasemenu on the display of the communication terminal.

The “weather at the current location of the communication terminal”includes weather corresponding to the installed location of the vendingmachine indicated by the identification information.

According to this aspect, by selecting the push notification screen, theuser who wishes to purchase a drink after viewing the push notificationscreen can display, on the display, the individual purchase menu thatdisplays drinks that match the preference of the user in according to anorder matching the preference in relation to the weather at the currentlocation. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can purchase a drink that matches thepreference of the user under the weather at that time while beingsensible of the order of the degree of matching the preference of theuser.

In the method described above, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal may be acquired from a secondserver that stores the weather information.

The “weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information of the installed location of thevending machine indicated by the identification information. The “secondserver that stores the weather information” includes the first serverthat stores, as the personal information of the user, a history of theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal owned by the user.

According to this aspect, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal is acquired from the secondserver that stores the weather information. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal in the communicationterminal can be omitted.

In the method described above, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal may include at least one of atemperature, a humidity, a heat index, a solar radiation, or a weathertype.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen is generated bytaking into account the preference information on drinks of the user ofthe communication terminal and at least one of the temperature, thehumidity, the heat index, the solar radiation, or the weather type atthe current location of the communication terminal. Thus, a drink can berecommended that matches the preference of the user in relation to atleast one of the temperature, the humidity, the heat index, the solarradiation, or the weather type at the timing when the user passes infront of or is near the vending machine.

In the method described above, the acquiring of the user ID, theidentification information, and the type information from thecommunication terminal may include acquiring of stock informationindicating quantities of stock of the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine, and the generating of the push notification screen mayinclude generating of the push notification screen also using the stockinformation.

EMBODIMENTS

It is expected that the Internet becomes further widespread in thefuture and various sensors become commonplace in our society. It is thusexpected that not only information on states, activities, and the likeof individuals but also information on the entire city includingbuildings, traffic networks, and the like are digitized to be usable ina computer system in our society. Digitized data on individuals(personal information) is accumulated in a cloud via a communicationnetwork, managed as big data in an information bank, and used forvarious purposes for individuals.

In Japan, such an advanced information society is called Society 5.0.The advanced information society is a society in which economicadvancement and solution of social problems are expectedly brought by aninformation infrastructure (cyber-physical system) that highlyintegrates a real space (physical space) and a virtual space(cyberspace) together.

In Society 5.0, personal information such as preference information andbiological information is centrally managed by a server of apersonal-information managing business entity called an information bankafter being anonymized so that the individuals are not to be specifiedby a third party. The personal information is updated at any time underthe management of the information bank without intervention of manualinput performed by a user of a terminal. When an individual makes adecision in various daily situations, big data including the accumulatedpersonal information is analyzed, so that the individual can be informedof an option that is presumably optimal for the individual in thesituation at that time.

Overview of Information Infrastructure of Vending Machine ManagementSystem

A vending machine management system according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure is a system configured by taking into account Society5.0, and is a system that manages stock information for vending machinesof drinks and recommends, to a user, a drink that matches a preferenceof the user by using personal information managed by an informationbank.

The vending machine management system according to the embodiments ofthe present disclosure will be described below with reference to thedrawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overview ofan information infrastructure of a vending machine management systemaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. An overview of theinformation infrastructure for implementing embodiments of the presentdisclosure will be described first with reference to FIG. 1 . Thisvending machine management system includes roughly three groups ofdevices.

A first group of devices is a group of devices that serves as physicalsales sites where a plurality of business entities sell products(goods), and includes vending machines 700 that sell products ofindividual business entities. FIG. 1 illustrates the vending machine 700that sells products A-1, A-2, and A-3 of a business entity X and thevending machine 700 that sells products B-1 and B-2 of the businessentity X.

A second group of devices is a group of devices carried by users, andincludes a communication terminal 100 such as a smartphone or a tabletterminal and a biological sensor 600 such as a smartwatch. Thecommunication terminal 100 can be connected to a wide-area communicationnetwork such as the Internet via a base station 400 by a long-rangewireless communication network such as a cellular network called 4G or5G, for example. The communication terminal 100 is capable ofcommunicating with the vending machines 700 by short-range wirelesscommunication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The communication terminal 100 includes an application provided by eachbusiness entity and a sensor application installed thereon. FIG. 1illustrates an example in which a business entity X application (alsoreferred to as “business entity X app”) provided by the business entityX and a sensor application (also referred to as “sensor app”) areinstalled on the communication terminal 100. The business entity Xapplication is an application for recommending a drink suitable for auser from among a plurality of drinks sold by the vending machines 700managed by the business entity X, by using personal information of theuser. The sensor application will be described later.

The biological sensor 600 periodically and continuously measuresbiological information of a user carrying the biological sensor 600. Thebiological information measured by the biological sensor 600 may includeinformation on a systolic blood pressure, a diastolic blood pressure, aheart rate, a body water percentage, and a body temperature. Thesepieces of information may be directly measured or indirectly derived.These pieces of information may be measured not only by one sensor butalso by a plurality of sensors such as a blood pressure sensor, a heartrate sensor, a bioelectrical impedance sensor, and a body temperaturesensor. In this case, as for overlapping biological information, themeasured biological information may be weighted in accordance withprecisions of the sensors to acquire the biological information, or thebiological information measured by one sensor selected by the user maybe acquired. Alternatively, biological information measured by the mostrecently released sensor may be acquired as a representative value,based on the product number information of each sensor.

The biological information measured by the biological sensor 600 is sentfrom the biological sensor 600 to the communication terminal 100 byshort-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registeredtrademark). The biological information may be stored and/or managed bythe sensor application installed on the communication terminal 100. Thebiological sensor 600 may be included in the communication terminal 100.

The sensor application uploads the collected biological information andmeasurement date and time information indicating a measurement date andtime of the biological information to a first server 200 in accordancewith user account information. The user account information includes auser ID, a password, and the like. Consequently, the biologicalinformation is stored in the first server 200 in time series inassociation with the user ID and the measurement date and timeinformation.

The sensor application may store the biological information in a memory102 (FIG. 2 ) of the communication terminal 100. The sensor applicationmay authorize the business entity X application or an operating system(OS) of the communication terminal 100 to access the biologicalinformation stored in the memory 102 (FIG. 2 ). In this case, thebiological information is uploaded to the first server 200 via thebusiness entity X application or the OS.

A third group of devices is a group of servers that store and/or manageinformation used by a plurality of users via a wide-area communicationnetwork such as the Internet, and includes the first server 200, abusiness entity management server 300, and a second server 500.

The first server 200 is a personal information server that distributespersonal information of a user to a plurality of locations, encrypts thedistributed personal information, and stores the distributed encryptedpersonal information. The first server 200 manages personal informationof a user by fragmenting, encrypting, and storing the personalinformation in a plurality of storage devices over a wide-areacommunication network. Thus, high security is ensured and leakage of thepersonal information is prevented.

The first server 200 has a function of returning, in response to aninquiry from a third party, necessary information in accordance withpermission of the user. The first server 200 also has a function ofsecurely sharing the personal information permitted by the user with thebusiness entity permitted by the user. That is, the first server 200 hasa function of an information bank.

The term “personal information” used herein broadly includes public orprivate information related to individuals. For example, the personalinformation includes at least one of a name, a date of birth, anaddress, an annual income, owned movable property/real estateinformation, physical information such as height/weight, geneticinformation, allergy information, medical information such as medicalhistory/diagnosis chart, activity amount information such as number ofsteps/calorie consumption, meal history information, biologicalinformation such as heart rate/body temperature, product purchasehistory information through a vending machine/store/electronic-commerce(EC) site, movement history information indicating a history of locationinformation of a current location of a communication terminal owned by auser, weather information of the location information, word informationsearched by a web search engine/artificial intelligence (AI) speaker, ortext/video/audio information sent/received by mail/social networkingservice (SNS).

The business entity management server 300 is a server in which eachbusiness entity stores and/or manages data unique to the businessentity. FIG. 1 illustrates a state in which the business entity X andtwo other entities each own or rent the business entity managementserver 300 and store and/or manage information on products of thebusiness entity. In the description below, the business entity X is abusiness entity that sells drinks.

The second server 500 is a server that has a function of managing(storing) public information and returning necessary public informationin response to an inquiry from a third party. For example, the publicinformation includes weather information and traffic information.

Specific Configuration of Vending Machine Management System

A specific configuration of the vending machine management systemaccording to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be describednext. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a specificconfiguration of the vending machine management system according to theembodiments of the present disclosure. The vending machine managementsystem illustrated in FIG. 2 includes the vending machines 700 managedby respective business entities, the communication terminal 100, thefirst server 200, the business entity management servers 300 managed byrespective business entities, the second server 500, and the biologicalsensor 600 which are described in FIG. 1 .

The communication terminal 100, the first server 200, the businessentity management servers 300, and the second server 500 are connectedto one another via a network NT to be able to communicate with oneanother. The network NT is a wide-area communication network includingthe Internet and a long-range wireless communication network such as acellular network. In FIG. 2 , the base station 400 illustrated in FIG. 1is not illustrated for convenience of explanation. In the descriptionbelow, the vending machines 700 are the vending machines 700 of drinksmanaged by the business entity X, and the business entity managementservers 300 are the business entity management servers 300 managed bythe business entity X.

Each of the vending machines 700 includes a memory 702, a productdetection unit 708, a proximity communication unit 707, and acomputation unit 704 that controls the memory 702, the product detectionunit 708, and the proximity communication unit 707.

The memory 702 is a nonvolatile storage device such as a flash memory.The memory 702 stores information on the vending machine 700. Theinformation on the vending machine 700 is input by a worker using aninput device such as a touch panel (not illustrated) when the workerstores each drink in the vending machine 700, and is stored in thememory 702 by the computation unit 704.

Specifically, the information on the vending machine 700 includesidentification information (second identification information) foridentifying the vending machine 700 and product information on aplurality of drinks stored in the vending machine 700.

The identification information for identifying the vending machine 700includes a business entity identifier (ID) and a vending machine ID. Thebusiness entity ID is an identifier of a business entity that managesthe vending machine 700. The vending machine ID is an identifier of thevending machine 700.

The product information includes type information indicating types ofthe plurality of drinks stored in the vending machine 700, and stockinformation indicating quantities of stock of the plurality of drinksstored in the vending machine 700. The stock information includes priceinformation indicating prices of the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine 700, quantity information indicating quantities of theplurality of drinks, and temperature information indicating temperaturesof the plurality of drinks.

Drinks can be classified by type, for example, coffee, black tea, greentea, carbonated drinks, sports drinks, and the like. Some drinks,however, belong to a plurality of types. This makes it difficult toclassify drinks unconditionally by type. Thus, in the presentembodiments, drinks are classified by product name. That is, in thepresent embodiments, the type information indicating the types of thedrinks is information indicating the product names of the drinks.

The product detection unit 708 includes, for example, a processor suchas a central processing unit (CPU) and a temperature sensor. The productdetection unit 708 reads the product information from the memory 702.The product detection unit 708 also measures a temperature of eachstored drink with the temperature sensor. The product detection unit 708updates the temperature information included in the product informationof each drink which is stored in the memory 702, with the informationindicating the measured temperature of the drink.

The product detection unit 708 measures the temperature of each drink tocontrol the temperature of each drink around a target temperature, whichis 5° C. for cold-storage drinks and 55° C. for hot-storage drinks. Ifthe temperature of the drink that has just stored does not reach thetarget temperature, the sale of this drink is not recommended. Thus, ifthe measured temperature of the drink is within a predeterminedtemperature range around the target temperature, the product detectionunit 708 detects the drink as a product available for sale; otherwise,the product detection unit 708 detects the drink as a product notavailable for sale since the drink is in a preparation stage before thesale.

The proximity communication unit 707 includes, for example, acommunication circuit that performs short-range wireless communicationin accordance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard, which ispart of the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard. The proximitycommunication unit 707 may further include a communication circuit thatperforms short-range wireless communication in accordance with the NearField Communication (NFC) standard. The computation unit 704 includes,for example, a processor such as a CPU.

The proximity communication unit 707 periodically transmits a beaconsignal in the case of performing short-range wireless communicationaccording to the BLE standard. In response to receipt of a signalindicating a connection request from the communication terminal 100 thatis located in a short range and has received the beacon signal, theproximity communication unit 707 notifies the computation unit 704 ofthe receipt of the signal indicating the connection request. In responseto receipt of the notification, the computation unit 704 reads theidentification information for identifying the vending machine 700 fromthe memory 702 and further controls the product detection unit 708 toread the product information on drinks detected as products availablefor sale and drinks detected as products not available for sale from thememory 702. The computation unit 704 controls the proximitycommunication unit 707 to return the read identification information ofthe vending machine 700 and product information to the communicationterminal 100 that has sent the signal indicating the connection request.

In response to receipt of information indicating drink purchase detailsfrom a proximity communication unit 107 of the communication terminal100, the proximity communication unit 707 outputs the receivedinformation indicating the drink purchase details to the computationunit 704. The information indicating the drink purchase detailsincludes, for example, a product name which is the type of the purchaseddrink, a quantity of purchase of the drink, and a total amount requiredto purchase the drink.

In response to acquisition of the information indicating the drinkpurchase details via the proximity communication unit 707, thecomputation unit 704 controls a transport mechanism (not illustrated) totransport the purchased drink indicated by the acquired information to apick-up port as many times as the quantity of purchase indicated by theinformation.

A configuration of the communication terminal 100 will be describednext. The communication terminal 100 includes the proximitycommunication unit 107, a communication unit 101, the memory 102, acamera 103, a computation unit 104, a display 105, and an operation unit106.

Similarly to the proximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine700, the proximity communication unit 107 includes, for example, acommunication circuit that performs short-range wireless communicationin accordance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard, which ispart of the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard. The proximitycommunication unit 107 may further include a communication circuit thatperforms short-range wireless communication in accordance with the NearField Communication (NFC) standard.

In the case of performing short-range wireless communication accordingto the BLE standard, in response to receipt of a beacon signaltransmitted from the vending machine 700, the proximity communicationunit 107 returns a signal indicating a connection request to the vendingmachine 700. The proximity communication unit 107 receives theidentification information of the vending machine 700 and the productinformation, which are returned from the proximity communication unit707 of the vending machine 700 in response to the signal indicating theconnection request. The proximity communication unit 107 outputs thereceived identification information and product information to thecomputation unit 104.

The proximity communication unit 107 receives various types ofbiological information measured by the biological sensor 600 from thebiological sensor 600. The proximity communication unit 107 outputs thereceived biological information to the computation unit 104.

The communication unit 101 includes a communication circuit thatconnects the communication terminal 100 to the network NT. In responseto receipt of information sent from the first server 200 and the secondserver 500, the communication unit 101 outputs the received informationto the computation unit 104. The communication unit 101 sends theidentification information of the vending machine 700 and the productinformation to the business entity management server 300 in associationwith each other under the control of the computation unit 104. Thecommunication unit 101 also sends purchase information (described later)to the first server 200 under the control of the computation unit 104.

The memory 102 includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a flashmemory. The memory 102 stores identification information (firstidentification information) for identifying the communication terminal100. The identification information for identifying the communicationterminal 100 includes a terminal identifier (ID) and a user identifier(ID). The terminal ID is an identifier of the communication terminal100. The user ID is an identifier of a user of the communicationterminal 100. The identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 is stored in the memory 102 when thecommunication terminal 100 is purchased.

The camera 103 is an imaging device including a complementarymetal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor or the like.

The computation unit 104 includes a processor such as a CPU. Thecomputation unit 104 executes the OS of the communication terminal 100,the business entity X application, the sensor application, a quickresponse (QR) code (registered trademark) reader, a browser, and so on.

The computation unit 104 executes the business entity X application toperform processing below.

The computation unit 104 controls the proximity communication unit 107to perform processing of acquiring identification information foridentifying the vending machine 700 and product information includingtype information and stock information from the vending machine 700 byusing short-range wireless communication, in response to receipt of abeacon signal transmitted from the vending machine 700 of drinksprovided by the business entity X.

The computation unit 104 performs processing of acquiring preferenceinformation on drinks of the user of the communication terminal 100. Thecomputation unit 104 performs processing of acquiring weatherinformation of a current location of the communication terminal 100 viathe network NT. The computation unit 104 performs processing ofacquiring current biological information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100.

The computation unit 104 further performs processing of determining,based on the pieces of information acquired in the processing, at leastone drink that matches a preference of the user of the communicationterminal 100 from among a plurality of drinks stored in the vendingmachine 700 which is a transmission source of the beacon signal receivedby the proximity communication unit 107, and generating a pushnotification screen that recommends the determined at least one drink.The computation unit 104 also performs processing of generating anindividual purchase menu based on order according to a degree ofmatching the preference of the user of the communication terminal 100.

The computation unit 104 executes the sensor application to acquire, viathe proximity communication unit 107, various types of biologicalinformation continuously measured by the biological sensor 600. If thecommunication terminal 100 includes the biological sensor 600, thecomputation unit 104 executes the sensor application to acquire varioustypes of biological information continuously measured by the biologicalsensor 600. The computation unit 104 uploads the biological informationacquired from the biological sensor 600 and date and time informationindicating the acquisition date and time of the biological informationtogether with the user account information to the first server 200 viathe communication unit 101.

The computation unit 104 may execute the sensor application to store thebiological information and the date and time information in the memory102. The sensor application may authorize the business entity Xapplication or the OS of the communication terminal 100 to access thebiological information stored in the memory 102. In this case, thebusiness entity X application or the OS may upload the biologicalinformation to the first server 200.

The display 105 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display panel oran organic electroluminescence (EL) panel, and displays various images.For example, the display 105 displays the push notification screendescribed above, an individual purchase menu (described below) for theuser of the communication terminal 100, and so on.

The operation unit 106 includes, for example, an input device such as atouch panel. For example, the operation unit 106 receives an operationof selecting and purchasing a drink desired by the user of thecommunication terminal 100 from the individual purchase menu for theuser.

A configuration of the first server 200 will be described next. Thefirst server 200 includes a communication unit 201, a computation unit202, and a memory 203. The communication unit 201 includes acommunication circuit that connects the first server 200 to the networkNT. In response to a request from the communication terminal 100 or thebusiness entity management server 300, the communication unit 201returns personal information of each user under the control of thecomputation unit 202.

The computation unit 202 includes a processor such as a CPU. Forexample, the communication unit 201 receives a signal requestingacquisition of personal information on a user with permission. The userwith permission is a user who has given, directly or indirectly via atrusted third party, permission to read their personal informationstored in the first server 200 and requested by the communicationterminal 100 or the business entity management server 300. In this case,in response to a request from the communication terminal 100 or thebusiness entity management server 300, the computation unit 202 readsthe personal information of the user with permission stored in thememory 203 and causes the communication unit 201 to return the personalinformation. The personal information to be read may be the entirepersonal information that is managed, or may be only information relatedto a requested particular item in the personal information managed (onlypart of the personal information).

The memory 203 includes a plurality of nonvolatile storage devices suchas hard disk drives. The memory 203 stores personal information of oneor more users. The personal information is stored in the plurality ofstorage devices after being distributed and encrypted.

The personal information stored in the memory 203 includes purchasehistory information, preference information, and biological information.The purchase history information is information indicating a purchasehistory of products such as drinks purchased by each user. Thepreference information is information indicating a preference of eachuser. The preference information is generated by the computation unit202, based on the purchase history information stored in the memory 203.The biological information is information indicating a physicalcondition of each user. The biological information includes informationon at least one of a systolic blood pressure, a diastolic bloodpressure, a heart rate, a body water percentage, or a body temperature.

A configuration of the business entity management server 300 will bedescribed next. There are one or more business entity management servers300 that correspond to respective business entities. Each of thebusiness entity management servers 300 includes a memory 303, acommunication unit 301, and a computation unit 302.

The memory 303 includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard diskdrive. The memory 303 stores, in association with identificationinformation for identifying each of the plurality of vending machines700 managed by the business entity X, product information on a pluralityof drinks stored in the vending machine 700 and location informationindicating an installed location of the vending machine 700. The productinformation includes type information indicating types of the pluralityof drinks stored in each vending machine 700, and stock informationindicating quantities of stock of the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine 700. The stock information includes price informationindicating prices of the plurality of drinks stored in the vendingmachine 700, quantity information indicating quantities of the pluralityof drinks, and temperature information indicating temperatures of theplurality of drinks.

The communication unit 301 includes a communication circuit thatconnects the business entity management server 300 to the network NT.The communication unit 301 receives the identification information foridentifying the vending machine 700 and the product information that aresent from the communication terminal 100, and outputs the receivedidentification information of the vending machine 700 and productinformation to the computation unit 302.

The computation unit 302 includes a processor such as a CPU. Based onthe identification information of the vending machine 700 and theproduct information that are sent from the communication terminal 100and acquired via the communication unit 301, the computation unit 302updates the product information of the vending machine 700 correspondingto the identification information and stored in the memory 303.

A configuration of the second server 500 will be described next. Thesecond server 500 includes a memory 503, a communication unit 501, and acomputation unit 502.

The memory 503 includes a plurality of nonvolatile storage devices suchas hard disk drives. In the memory 503, a managing business entity ofthe second server 500 stores weather information of each region and dateand time information indicating acquisition date and time of the weatherinformation of the region, in association with each other. The weatherinformation includes at least one of a temperature, a humidity, a heatindex, a solar radiation, or a weather type.

The communication unit 501 includes a communication circuit thatconnects the second server 500 to the network NT. The communication unit501 receives a signal requesting acquisition of weather information of acertain region, from the communication terminal 100 or the businessentity management server 300. The communication unit 501 outputs thereceived signal requesting acquisition of the weather information to thecomputation unit 502. The communication unit 501 returns the weatherinformation corresponding to the request under the control of thecomputation unit 502.

The computation unit 502 includes a processor such as a CPU. In responseto acquisition of a signal requesting acquisition of weather informationof a certain region via the communication unit 501, the computation unit502 reads weather information associated with date and time informationindicating the date and time that is the closest to the reception timeof the signal, for example, from among pieces of weather information ofthe requested region stored in the memory 503, and causes thecommunication unit 501 to return the read weather information. Theconfiguration is not limited to this. The computation unit 502 may readone or more pieces of weather information associated with date and timeinformation indicating a past predetermined period from the receptiontime of the signal, for example, from among the pieces of weatherinformation of the requested region stored in the memory 503, and causethe communication unit 501 to return the read one or more pieces ofweather information.

Beacon Signal Used in Short-Range Wireless Communication

A beacon signal used in short-range wireless communication performedbetween the communication terminal 100 and the vending machine 700 willbe described next with reference to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is an explanatorydiagram of a beacon signal used in short-range wireless communicationperformed between the communication terminal 100 and the vending machine700.

As described above, short-range wireless communication using a beaconsignal is performed between the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 and the proximity communication unit 707 ofthe vending machine 700 in accordance with the BLE (Bluetooth LowEnergy) standard, which is part of the Bluetooth (registered trademark)standard.

The beacon signal is periodically transmitted from the proximitycommunication unit 707 of the vending machine 700. As illustrated inFIG. 3 , in response to receipt of a beacon signal, the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 may representthe distance from the proximity communication unit 707 as roughly fourtypes, which are immediate, near, far, and unknown, depending on a radiofield intensity of the signal.

Specifically, the proximity communication unit 107 of the communicationterminal 100 grasps that the distance from the proximity communicationunit 707 is “immediate” based on the radio field intensity of the beaconsignal received when the distance from the proximity communication unit707 is within several centimeters. Likewise, the proximity communicationunit 107 of the communication terminal 100 grasps that the distance fromthe proximity communication unit 707 is near/far based on the radiofield intensity of the beacon signal received when the distance from theproximity communication unit 707 is within about 1 m/about 10 m,respectively.

When the distance from the proximity communication unit 707 is longer(for example, greater than or equal to about 10 m), the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 may fail toreceive (detect) the beacon signal transmitted from the proximitycommunication unit 707. In this case, the proximity communication unit107 of the communication terminal 100 grasps that the distance from theproximity communication unit 707 is unknown since the distance is toofar for the beacon signal to reach the proximity communication unit 107.

However, the method by which the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 grasps the distance from the proximitycommunication unit 707 that has transmitted the beacon signal is notlimited to this. For example, the proximity communication unit 107 ofthe communication terminal 100 may grasp the distance from the proximitycommunication unit 707 that has transmitted the beacon signal, based ona received signal strength indicator (RSSI) which is a measurement valueof the radio field intensity of the beacon signal received from theproximity communication unit 707, or may grasp the distance usinganother method.

The beacon signal transmitted from the proximity communication unit 707includes a beacon ID which is an identifier of the beacon signal. Forexample, in the iBeacon (registered trademark) standard of Apple Inc.,the beacon ID includes a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) which is128 bits long, and major and minor values each of which is a 16-bitunsigned integer.

The UUID is an identifier for uniquely identifying an object onsoftware. In this case, for example, a 128-bit numerical valueindicating the business entity ID and a 32-bit numerical valueindicating the vending machine ID are stored in the memory 702. Theproximity communication unit 707 transmits a beacon signal in which the128-bit numerical value indicating the business entity ID stored in thememory 702 is set as the UUID and the 32-bit numerical value indicatingthe vending machine ID stored in the memory 702 is set as the major andminor values.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table indicating arelationship between a beacon ID and identification information foridentifying the vending machine 700. When the business entity Xapplication is installed, a table 2010 indicating a relationship betweena beacon ID and identification information for identifying the vendingmachine 700 illustrated in FIG. 4 is stored in the memory 102 of thecommunication terminal 100. In response to receipt of a beacon signal,the proximity communication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100refers to the table 2010 stored in the memory 102 to acquireidentification information for identifying the vending machine 700associated with the beacon ID included in the received beacon signal.

For example, the UUID, the major value, and the minor value of thebeacon ID included in the beacon signal received by the proximitycommunication unit 107 are “0000-0000-0000-000X”, “0x1000”, and“0x0000”, respectively. In this case, the proximity communication unit107 refers to the table 2010 illustrated in FIG. 4 to acquireidentification information for identifying the vending machine 700 whichis “business entity ID=X vending machine ID=0x00000000”.

The beacon ID may comply with a frame type Eddystone-UID defined by theEddystone (registered trademark) standard of Google Inc., for example.In this case, the beacon ID includes a frame type to which a fixed value0 is set, a 10-byte namespace ID, and a 6-byte instance ID.

In this case, for example, a 10-byte value indicating the businessentity ID and a 6-byte value indicating the vending machine ID arestored in the memory 702. The proximity communication unit 707 transmitsa beacon signal in which the 10-byte value indicating the businessentity ID stored in the memory 702 is set as the namespace ID and the6-byte value indicating the vending machine ID stored in the memory 702is set as the instance ID.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table indicating arelationship between a beacon ID and identification information of thevending machine 700. In this case, when the business entity Xapplication is installed, a table 2011 indicating a relationship betweena beacon ID and identification information of the vending machine 700illustrated in FIG. 5 is stored in the memory 102 of the communicationterminal 100. In response to receipt of a beacon signal, the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 refers to thetable 2011 stored in the memory 102 to acquire identificationinformation for identifying the vending machine 700 associated with thebeacon ID included in the received beacon signal.

For example, the namespace ID and the instance ID of the beacon IDincluded in the beacon signal received by the proximity communicationunit 107 are “X-1” and “000000”, respectively. In this case, theproximity communication unit 107 refers to the table 2011 illustrated inFIG. 5 to acquire identification information of the vending machine 700which is “business entity ID=X vending machine ID=000000”.

Process of Short-Range Wireless Communication Using Beacon Signal

A process of short-range wireless communication using a beacon signalperformed between the communication terminal 100 and the vending machine700 will be described next with reference to FIG. 6 . FIG. 6 is asequence diagram illustrating a process of short-range wirelesscommunication using a beacon signal.

In short-range wireless communication using a beacon signal performedbetween the communication terminal 100 and the vending machine 700, theproximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700 operates asa slave and the proximity communication unit 107 of the communicationterminal 100 operates as a master.

Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 6 , the proximity communicationunit 707 of the vending machine 700 periodically transmits a beaconsignal (advertising) (step S701).

In response to receipt of the beacon signal (scanning), the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 detects adistance to the vending machine 700 that is the transmission source ofthe beacon signal and a transmission direction of the beacon signal aswell as the beacon ID. The proximity communication unit 107 notifies thecomputation unit 104 of receipt of the beacon signal, and outputsinformation indicating the detected distance and transmission directionto the computation unit 104. Thus, in response to detection of thereceipt of the beacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107,the computation unit 104 stores the information received from theproximity communication unit 107 in the memory 102 (step S101).Specifically, in step S101, the proximity communication unit 107 detectsthe transmission direction of the received beacon signal, based onspecifications defined by Bluetooth (registered trademark) 5.1, forexample.

The proximity communication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100then selects the proximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine700 identified by the beacon ID included in the beacon signal, as aconnection destination (initiating) (step S102). The proximitycommunication unit 107 then sends a signal indicating a connectionrequest (connect request) to the selected proximity communication unit707 of the vending machine 700 (step S103).

In response to receipt of the signal indicating the connection request,the proximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700establishes a connection to the communication terminal 100 that has sentthe signal indicating the connection request, and notifies thecomputation unit 704 of the receipt. In response to this notification,the computation unit 704 controls the product detection unit 708 to readidentification information for identifying the vending machine 700 andproduct information including type information and stock informationfrom the memory 702. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, theidentification information for identifying the vending machine 700 maybe referred to as identification information of the vending machine 700.Under the control of the computation unit 704, the proximitycommunication unit 107 returns, as additional information, theidentification information of the vending machines 700 and the productinformation that are read by the computation unit 704, to the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 that has sentthe signal indicating the connection request (step S702). Theidentification information of the vending machine 700 and the productinformation are returned to the communication terminal 100 as theadditional information in this example. However, the identificationinformation is not necessarily sent because the vending machine 700 thatis the connection destination is known at the time of connection.

In response to receipt of the additional information, the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 outputs thereceived additional information to the computation unit 104. Thecomputation unit 104 stores the additional information received from theproximity communication unit 107 in the memory 102 (step S104). Theproximity communication unit 107 then returns a signal indicatingdisconnection (disconnect) (step S105).

Thus, the proximity communication unit 107 of the communication terminal100 ends the communication with the proximity communication unit 707.The proximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700disconnects the connection with the proximity communication unit 107 ofthe communication terminal 100. The proximity communication unit 107 ofthe communication terminal 100 then returns to a state of waiting forreceipt of a beacon signal transmitted from the proximity communicationunit 707 of another vending machine 700.

Thereafter, each time the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 receives a beacon signal transmitted from theproximity communication unit 707 of another vending machine 700,processing of step S101 and subsequent steps is repeated if the productinformation of the vending machine 700 that has transmitted the beaconsignal has not been acquired yet or if a predetermined time or more haselapsed since acquisition of the product information of the vendingmachine 700 that has transmitted the beacon signal. Thus, thecomputation unit 104 acquires, from each vending machine 700 locatedwithin a beacon signal receivable range, the identification informationand the product information of the vending machine 700. The computationunit 104 also acquires, from the memory 102, information indicating adistance to each vending machine 700 which is the transmission source ofa corresponding beacon signal received by the proximity communicationunit 107 and a transmission direction of the beacon signal.

First Embodiment

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be describednext with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. FIGS. 7A and 7B are a sequencediagram illustrating an example of the overview of the process performedin the vending machine management system in the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the proximity communication unit 707 of eachof the vending machines 700 included in the vending machine managementsystem periodically transmits a beacon signal (step S271). Thisprocessing corresponds to step S701 illustrated in FIG. 6 .

The business entity X application is executed in the communicationterminal 100, so that the proximity communication unit 107 enters astate of waiting for receipt of a beacon signal. Consequently, theprocessing of step S101 and subsequent steps illustrated in FIG. 6 isperformed. Specifically, in response to receipt of the beacon signaltransmitted in step S271, the proximity communication unit 107 detects adistance to a transmission source of the beacon signal (which is thevending machine 700) and a transmission direction of the beacon signalas well as the beacon ID. The proximity communication unit 107 thennotifies the computation unit 104 of the receipt of the beacon signaland outputs information indicating the detected beacon ID, distance, andtransmission direction to the computation unit 104. Thus, in response todetection of the receipt of the beacon signal by the proximitycommunication unit 107, the computation unit 104 stores the informationindicating the beacon ID, the distance, and the transmission directionacquired from the proximity communication unit 107 in the memory 102(step S201). This processing corresponds to step S101 illustrated inFIG. 6 .

Processing corresponding to the processing of step S102 and subsequentsteps illustrated in FIG. 6 is performed next. Specifically, theproximity communication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100performs short-range wireless communication with the proximitycommunication unit 707 of the vending machine 700 which is thetransmission source of the beacon signal received in step S201. Thus,the proximity communication unit 107 acquires additional informationthat includes identification information for identifying the vendingmachine 700 and product information including type information and stockinformation. The proximity communication unit 107 outputs the acquiredadditional information to the computation unit 104, and ends thecommunication with the proximity communication unit 707 of the vendingmachine 700. The computation unit 104 stores the additional informationacquired from the proximity communication unit 107 in the memory 102(step S202).

The computation unit 104 then controls the communication unit 101 tosend the identification information of the vending machine 700 and theproduct information that are acquired in step S202 to the businessentity management server 300 (step S203). In response to this, in thebusiness entity management server 300, based on the identificationinformation of the vending machine 700 and the product information thatare acquired via the communication unit 301, the computation unit 302updates product information of the vending machine 700 corresponding tothe identification information and stored in the memory 303.

In this way, each time the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 receives a beacon signal transmitted from theproximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700 from whichthe product information has not been acquired yet, the processing fromstep S201 to step S203 is repeated in response to the receipt.

In response to detecting that a plurality of beacon signals transmittedfrom the plurality of vending machines 700 are received by the proximitycommunication unit 107, the computation unit 104 may perform merelysteps S201 and S202 at receipt of each of the beacon signals by theproximity communication unit 107 and may perform step S203 just once.Thus, the computation unit 104 may collectively send the pieces ofidentification information and the pieces of product information of therespective vending machines 700 acquired in each step S202 to thebusiness entity management server 300 in single step S203.

Suppose that the business entity (business operator) X that provides thebusiness entity X application has an affiliation with the managingbusiness entity (management operator) of the first server 200 and thatthe business entity X is permitted to acquire personal information ofeach user stored in the first server 200. In this case ([withaffiliation between business entities]), the computation unit 104 of thecommunication terminal 100 controls the communication unit 101 to send,to the first server 200, identification information (firstidentification information) for identifying the communication terminal100 stored in the memory 102 and a signal requesting sending ofpreference information of the user identified by the user ID included inthe identification information (step S204).

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 and the signal requesting sending of thepreference information of the user, which are sent in step S204, thecomputation unit 202 performs processing of step S221 (step S221).

Specifically, in step S221, the computation unit 202 determines whetherthe user indicated by the user ID included in the identificationinformation received by the communication unit 201 is a user withpermission. If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is auser with permission ([with permission of user]), the computation unit202 acquires the preference information included in the personalinformation of the user with permission from the memory 203 and causesthe communication unit 201 to return the acquired preferenceinformation. On the other hand, if the computation unit 202 determinesthat the user is not a user with permission ([otherwise]), thecomputation unit 202 causes the communication unit 201 to returninformation indicating that the personal information is inaccessible.The returned information is received and output to the computation unit104 by the communication unit 101 of the communication terminal 100.

If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 may cause thecommunication unit 201 to return a message for checking whether topermit reading of the personal information stored in the memory 203.Suppose that in response to this, the computation unit 202 acquires areply indicating permission from the communication terminal 100 via thecommunication unit 201. In this case, the computation unit 202 mayacquire, from the memory 203, the preference information included in thepersonal information of the user indicated by the user ID included inthe received identification information, and cause the communicationunit 201 to return the acquired information in step S221.

Suppose that the preference information of the user of the communicationterminal 100 is stored in the memory 102 of the communication terminal100. In this case ([preference information stored]), after performingstep S204, the computation unit 104 acquires the preference informationof the user of the communication terminal 100 stored in the memory 102within a range not overlapping the preference information returned instep S221 (step S205).

The computation unit 104 controls the communication unit 101 to send asignal requesting acquisition of weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 to the second server 500. Thecomputation unit 104 acquires, via the communication unit 101, theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 returned from the second server 500 in response to the sentsignal. The computation unit 104 stores the acquired weather informationin the memory 102 in time series in association with date and timeinformation indicating the acquisition date and time of the weatherinformation (step S206). Thereafter, the computation unit 104 repeatsstep S206 periodically (for example, every hour).

Specifically, in step S206, the computation unit 104 sends a signalrequesting acquisition of weather information of the current location ofthe communication terminal 100, including location informationindicating the current location of the communication terminal 100. Inresponse to receipt of the signal requesting acquisition of the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100via the communication unit 501, the computation unit 502 of the secondserver 500 acquires the location information included in the signal. Thecomputation unit 502 reads, from the memory 503, weather informationassociated with date and time information indicating, for example, themost recent date and time from among pieces of weather information ofthe region including the location indicated by the acquired locationinformation, and causes the communication unit 501 to return the readweather information.

In step S206, the computation unit 104 may send the signal requestingacquisition of weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal 100, including the location information of anyone of the vending machines 700 acquired in step S202. Thus, in stepS206, the computation unit 104 may acquire weather informationcorresponding to an installed location of the vending machine 700located near the current location of the communication terminal 100, asthe weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100.

The location information of any one of the vending machines 700 acquiredin step S202 may be acquired in the following manner, for example. Thecomputation unit 104 may send a signal requesting the locationinformation of any one of the vending machines 700 to the businessentity management server 300, together with the identificationinformation of the any one of the vending machines 700 acquired in stepS202. In the business entity management server 300, in response toacquiring, via the communication unit 301, the identificationinformation included in the signal requesting the location informationof the any one of the vending machines 700, the computation unit 302 mayacquire, from the memory 303, the location information that indicatesthe installed location of the any one of the vending machines 700 and isassociated with the identification information, and cause thecommunication unit 301 to return the acquired location information.

The acquisition method is not limited to this. The computation unit 502may read one or more pieces of weather information associated with dateand time information indicating a past predetermined period from thereception time of the signal, for example, from among the pieces ofweather information, stored in the memory 503, of the region includingthe location indicated by the location information included in thesignal received by the communication unit 501, and cause thecommunication unit 501 to return the read one or more pieces of weatherinformation.

In the first server 200, a history of the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 stored in the memory102 of the communication terminal 100 owned by the user with permissionmay be managed as the personal information of the user with permission.

Specifically, the computation unit 104 of the communication terminal 100may send the date and time information and the weather informationstored in the memory 102 in time series in step S206 to the first server200 in association with the user ID of the user of the communicationterminal 100. In response to this, in the first server 200, if thecomputation unit 202 determines that the user indicated by the user IDsent from the communication terminal 100 is a user with permission inthe same manner as in step S221, the computation unit 202 may store theuser ID, the date and time information, and the weather information thatare sent from the communication terminal 100 in the memory 203 in timeseries, as the history of the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 owned by the user withpermission.

Alternatively, the first server 200 may manage a history of the locationinformation indicating the current location of the communicationterminal 100 owned by the user with permission, as the personalinformation of the user with permission in the same manner. In thiscase, in step S221, the computation unit 104 may acquire, as thepersonal information, the history of the location information togetherwith the preference information of the user with permission. Thecomputation unit 104 may trace back to the past the history of thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 indicated by theacquired history of the location information, and acquire the weatherinformation of the surrounding region at the time of purchase of a drinkby the user with permission from the second server 500, as the historyof the weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100.

The computation unit 104 then generates a push notification screen,based on each combination of the identification information of thevending machines 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, and theweather information that are acquired in the preceding steps (stepS207). Each combination of the identification information of the vendingmachines 700 and the type information and the stock information includedin the product information is the combination acquired in step S202 eachtime a beacon signal is received. The preference information is thepreference information returned and acquired via the communication unit101 in step S221 and the preference information acquired in step S205.The weather information is the weather information acquired in step S206and the history of the weather information of the current location ofthe communication terminal 100 stored in the memory 102.

The computation unit 104 then displays the push notification screengenerated in step S207 on the display 105 of the communication terminal100 (step S208). The computation unit 104 may display the pushnotification screen on the display 105 and may also drive a vibrationgenerator (not illustrated) built in the communication terminal 100 toallow the user of the communication terminal 100 to easily notice thepush notification. The computation unit 104 may display the pushnotification screen on the display 105 and may also reproduce a soundreporting receipt of the push notification from a speaker (notillustrated) built in the communication terminal 100 to allow the userof the communication terminal 100 to easily notice the pushnotification.

As described above, in response to receipt of a beacon signal by theproximity communication unit 107, the communication terminal 100performs the processing of step S201 and subsequent steps, so that thepush notification screen is automatically displayed in step S208.

If receipt of a beacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107 isnot detected for a predetermined time or more since the pushnotification screen is displayed in step S208 ([without receipt ofbeacon signal for predetermined time or more]), the computation unit 104performs processing of hiding the displayed push notification screen tohide the push notification screen. The computation unit 104 then endsthe process (step S209). After ending the process, the computation unit104 returns to a state of waiting for receipt of a beacon signal by theproximity communication unit 107.

On the other hand, if the user performs an operation (for example, atouch operation) of selecting the push notification screen by using theoperation unit 106 ([push notification screen selected]), thecomputation unit 104 generates an individual purchase menu for the userof the communication terminal 100, based on the type information and thestock information included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information that are used in step S207(step S210).

The computation unit 104 then displays the individual purchase menu forthe user of the communication terminal 100 generated in step S210 on thedisplay 105 of the communication terminal 100 (step S211).

Suppose that the user of the communication terminal 100 then selects adrink to be purchased from among drinks included in the individualpurchase menu displayed in step S211 and performs a purchase operationof the selected drink, by using the operation unit 106. In this case([purchase operation]), the computation unit 104 reads, from the memory102, information indicating the transmission direction of the beaconsignal transmitted by the vending machine 700 that sells the drinkselected as the drink to be purchased. The computation unit 104 displaysa direction indication indicating the transmission direction of thebeacon signal indicated by the read information on the display 105 ofthe communication terminal 100 (step S212). After the drink to bepurchased is confirmed, the computation unit 104 may re-scan the beaconsignal transmitted by the proximity communication unit 707 of thevending machine 700 storing the drink, and display a directionindication indicating the transmission direction of the beacon signal onthe display 105 of the communication terminal 100.

The user of the communication terminal 100 then moves to the vendingmachine 700 that sells the drink to be purchased and performs apredetermined payment operation using the communication terminal 100. Inresponse to the payment operation, the computation unit 104 performspredetermined settlement processing and controls the proximitycommunication unit 107 to send information indicating drink purchasedetails to the vending machine 700 (step S213). The informationindicating the drink purchase details includes, for example, a productname which is the type of the drink to be purchased, a quantity ofpurchase of the drink, and a total amount required to purchase thedrink.

In the predetermined settlement processing, for example, the computationunit 104 subtracts an amount equivalent to the total amount required topurchase the drink from electronic money balance data stored in thememory 102. The computation unit 104 also controls the proximitycommunication unit 107 to send electronic money corresponding to thetotal amount required to purchase the drink, to the vending machine 700that sells the drink selected as the drink to be purchased.

Alternatively, in the predetermined settlement processing, thecomputation unit 104 may control the communication unit 101 to sendinformation indicating the drink purchase details and information on acredit card or electronic money input through the payment operation orstored in advance in the memory 102 to the business entity managementserver 300 that manages the vending machine 700 that sells the drinkselected as the drink to be purchased, and request the business entitymanagement server 300 to perform the settlement processing according tothe purchase details.

Alternatively, in the predetermined settlement processing, thecomputation unit 104 may control the proximity communication unit 107 tosend information indicating the drink purchase details and informationon a credit card input through the payment operation or stored inadvance in the memory 102 to the vending machine 700 that sells thedrink selected as the drink to be purchased, and request the vendingmachine 700 to perform the settlement processing according to thepurchase details.

In the vending machine 700, according to the information indicating thedrink purchase details sent in step S213 and acquired via the proximitycommunication unit 707, the computation unit 704 causes the drink havingthe product name indicated by the information to be transported to thepick-up port as many times as the quantity of purchase indicated by theinformation. Consequently, the drink purchased by the user is providedto the user (step S272).

After step S213, the computation unit 104 of the communication terminal100 controls the communication unit 101 to send the purchase informationof the drink to the first server 200 (step S214). The purchaseinformation of the drink includes the user ID of the user of thecommunication terminal 100, the date and time information indicating thepurchase date and time of the drink by the user, the identificationinformation for identifying the vending machine 700 from which the userpurchased the drink, and the type information indicating the type of thedrink purchased by the user.

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the purchase information sent in step S214, if the userindicated by the user ID included in the purchase information receivedby the communication unit 201 is a user with permission, the computationunit 202 updates the purchase history information of the user withpermission stored in the memory 203 based on the purchase information(step S222).

Method of Recommending and Purchasing Drink

A method of recommending a drink to the user of the communicationterminal 100 and a method of allowing the user to purchase a drink willbe described below with reference to each processing (FIGS. 7A and 7B)performed in the vending machine management system described above. Inthe description, details of the push notification screen and theindividual purchase menu for the user of the communication terminal 100will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example ofa push notification screen 800A. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating adisplay example of a push notification screen 800B. FIG. 10 is a diagramillustrating an example of a relationship between a location of thecommunication terminal 100 and a location of the vending machine 700.FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a pushnotification screen 800C.

Suppose that after launching the business entity X application installedon the communication terminal 100, the user carrying the communicationterminal 100 passes in front of or is near the vending machine 700managed by the business entity X. In this case, the communicationterminal 100 receives a beacon signal transmitted from the vendingmachine 700, and performs the processing from step S201 to step S208illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B. As a result, the push notificationscreen is displayed on the display 105.

Specifically, in step S208, the computation unit 104 displays the pushnotification screen 800A imitating the vending machine 700 at anuppermost portion of the display 105 of the communication terminal 100as illustrated in FIG. 8 , for example.

In response to the user performing an operation of sliding the pushnotification screen 800A downward with a finger or an operation oftouching (selecting) the push notification screen 800A with a finger,the computation unit 104 displays the detailed push notification screen800B on the display 105 as illustrated in FIG. 9 . In step S208, thecomputation unit 104 may display the detailed push notification screen800B illustrated in FIG. 9 on the display 105 without displaying thepush notification screen 800A illustrated in FIG. 8 .

The push notification screen 800B includes a message 820 and an iconimage 840. The message 820 is a message that recommends one drinkdetermined to match a preference of the user of the communicationterminal 100 from among a plurality of drinks stored in the vendingmachines 700 that are the transmission sources of the respective beaconsignals and are indicated by the respective pieces of identificationinformation acquired in step S202 (FIG. 7A) each time a beacon signal isreceived. The icon image 840 is an image representing the one drink. Inthis manner, a drink that matches the preference of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 is recommended to the user who is in thevicinity of the vending machine 700.

In the push notification screen 800B, an image 830 is displayed as adirection indication indicating the transmission direction of the beaconsignal transmitted by the vending machine 700 storing the recommendeddrink, based on the information indicating the transmission direction ofthe beacon signal stored in the memory 102 in step S201 (FIG. 7A). Thus,the user of the communication terminal 100 can grasp the direction inwhich the vending machine 700 storing the recommended drink is present.

In the push notification screen 800B, a message may be displayed thatrecommends a plurality of drinks determined to match the preference ofthe user of the communication terminal 100 from among the plurality ofdrinks stored in the vending machines 700 that are the transmissionsources of the respective beacon signals. Similarly to the image 830,direction indications each indicating the transmission direction of thebeacon signal transmitted by a corresponding one of the vending machines700 storing the plurality of recommended drinks may be displayed in thepush notification screen 800B based on the information indicating thetransmission directions of the beacon signals stored in the memory 102in step S201 (FIG. 7A).

Alternatively, suppose that the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 receives a beacon signal transmitted by theproximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700 located at alocation that is 6.1 m away from the proximity communication unit 107 ina direction rotated clockwise by 48 degrees from the front direction ofthe communication terminal 100, as illustrated in FIG. 10 , for example.In this case, in step S208, the computation unit 104 may display thepush notification screen 800C illustrated in FIG. 11 on the display 105.

The push notification screen 800C includes the message 820 identical tothat in the push notification screen 800B illustrated in FIG. 9 . In thepush notification screen 800C illustrated in FIG. 11 , an imagedifferent from the image 830 illustrated in FIG. 9 is displayed as thedirection indication.

Specifically, the computation unit 104 displays an image 831 indicatingthe current location of the communication terminal 100 and displays theicon image 840 indicating the product recommended in step S207 in adirection rotated clockwise by 48 degrees from the front direction ofthe image 831, by using the information indicating the transmissiondirection of the beacon signal stored in the memory 102 in step S201(FIG. 7A). The computation unit 104 further displays an image 832indicating the distance from the current location of the communicationterminal 100 by using the information indicating the distance to thevending machine 700 that is the transmission source of the beacon signalstored in the memory 102 in step S201 (FIG. 7A). In this specificexample, since the distance to the vending machine 700 that is thetransmission source of the beacon signal is 6.1 m (FIG. 10 ), thecomputation unit 104 displays the image 832 representing a distance of 6m from the current location of the communication terminal 100, which isa rough indication of the distance, as illustrated in FIG. 11 .

Hereinafter, the push notification screens 800A to 800C described aboveare collectively referred to as the push notification screen 800.Suppose that after the push notification screen 800 is displayed on thedisplay 105, the user of the communication terminal 100 moves and apredetermined time or more has elapsed during which the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 fails toreceive the beacon signal from the vending machine 700. In this case,step S209 (FIG. 7B) is performed, and the push notification screen 800is hidden. Thus, the push notification screen 800 that recommends adrink being kept uselessly displayed on the display 105 of thecommunication terminal 100 of the user who presumably does not wish topurchase the drink is avoided.

However, the trigger of hiding the push notification screen 800 is notlimited to this. When the user of the communication terminal 100performs, using the operation unit 106, an operation (for example, aswipe operation) in an area of the display 105 where the pushnotification screen 800 is displayed, the computation unit 104 mayperform the processing of hiding the displayed push notification screen800 to hide the push notification screen 800. Alternatively, when theuser does not perform any operation on the push notification screen 800for a predetermined time or more since the display of the pushnotification screen 800, the computation unit 104 performs theprocessing of hiding the displayed push notification screen 800 to hidethe push notification screen 800, or the computation unit 104 mayperform processing of displaying an indication such as “timeout” overthe push notification screen 800 to invalidate the push notificationscreen 800.

The user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewing the pushnotification screen 800 performs an operation (for example, a touchoperation) of selecting the push notification screen 800 by using theoperation unit 106. In this case, steps S210 and S211 (FIG. 7B) areperformed. Consequently, the individual purchase menu for the user isdisplayed on the display 105.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an individualpurchase menu 900. Specifically, in step S211 (FIG. 7B), the computationunit 104 displays the individual purchase menu 900 for the user on thedisplay 105 as illustrated in FIG. 12 , for example. The individualpurchase menu 900 for the user includes a plurality of tile objects 901arranged in a matrix and a title 902.

One tile object 901 corresponds to one drink that is determined to matchthe preference of the user of the communication terminal 100 from amonga plurality of drinks stored in the vending machines 700 that aretransmission sources of the respective beacon signals and are indicatedby the respective pieces of identification information acquired in stepS202 (FIG. 7A) each time a beacon signal is received. Each of the tileobjects 901 includes a product name that is the type of the drink, aprice of the drink, and an image of the drink.

Similarly to the image 830 included in the push notification screen 800illustrated in FIG. 9 , for example, a direction indication indicatingthe transmission direction of the beacon signal transmitted by thecorresponding vending machine 700 storing the drink may be displayed ineach of the tile objects 901, based on the information indicating thetransmission direction of the beacon signal stored in the memory 102 instep S201 (FIG. 7A).

The tile objects 901 are arranged in order according to a degree ofmatching the preference of the user of the communication terminal 100.For example, the tile objects 901 are arranged from the left end to theright end sequentially from the tile object 901 corresponding to a drinkhaving the highest ranking in the order. After one of the tile objects901 is arranged at the right end, the tile objects 901 are arranged fromthe left end to the right end in the next row below. The example of theindividual purchase menu 900 in FIG. 12 indicates that a drink with theproduct name “green tea” represented by the tile object 901 arranged atthe left end in the uppermost row has the highest ranking in the order,and a drink with the product name “beer 1” represented by the tileobject 901 arranged at the right end in the lowermost row has the lowestranking in the order.

The arrangement order of the tile objects 901 according to the rankingsdescribed herein is an example, and the present disclosure is notlimited to this example. In accordance with the rankings in the order,the tile objects 901 may be arranged from the right end to the left endin the same row, may be arranged from the lowermost row to the uppermostrow, or may be arranged in a combination thereof.

For example, a plurality of objects representing a plurality of drinksmay be arranged in a line horizontally, vertically, or on an arc line,and only some of the objects may be displayed on the display 105. Inthis case, the object representing the drink having the highest rankingin the order may be arranged to be displayed at the center initially,and the object representing the drink having the next highest rankingmay be arranged to be displayed next to the object representing thedrink having the highest ranking in the order. In this example, theobjects may be arranged so that the ranking in the order becomes loweras the position becomes closer to the right, the objects may be arrangedso that the ranking in the order becomes lower as the position becomescloser to the left, or the ranking of the drink represented by theobject may become lower as the distance of the object from the objectrepresenting the drink having the highest ranking in the orderincreases.

As described above, the individual purchase menu 900 for the user is notan individual purchase menu specific for one vending machine 700 but isa menu obtained by integrating, as one purchase menu, drinks that aredetermined to match the preference of the user of the communicationterminal 100 from among a plurality of drinks stored in all the vendingmachines 700 that are transmission sources of the beacon signalsreceived by the communication terminal 100. Thus, the title 902indicates that the individual purchase menu 900 is an integratedpurchase menu of a plurality of drinks sold by the nearby vendingmachines 700, such as “virtual menu from nearby vending machines”illustrated in FIG. 12 , for example.

In response to the user performing a scroll operation in the individualpurchase menu 900 for the user by using the operation unit 106, thedisplayed tile objects 901 are changed accordingly. Thus, the tileobjects 901 corresponding to other drinks that are not displayed at atime are displayed. As described above, the user can browse the tileobjects 901 corresponding to all the drinks included in the individualpurchase menu 900 for the user by performing a scroll operation.

The user who has decided on the drink to be purchased after viewing theindividual purchase menu 900 performs a purchase operation for the drinkto be purchased. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scenein which the user of the communication terminal 100 selects a drink tobe purchased from the individual purchase menu 900. Specifically, asillustrated in FIG. 13 , the user can select a drink to be purchased byperforming a touch operation on the tile object 901 representing thedrink to be purchased by using a pointing body 1001 such as a finger.

In response to the tile object 901 representing the drink to bepurchased being selected, the computation unit 104 changes a colorand/or a pattern of the selected tile object 901. The computation unit104 also displays “1” indicating the quantity of purchase of the drinkrepresented by the tile object 901, at a predetermined position (forexample, an upper right portion) of the tile object 901. Each time thetile object 901 is selected by the user, the computation unit 104 countsup the quantity of purchase displayed over the tile object 901 by oneand displays the resulting quantity of purchase.

In response to at least one tile object 901 being selected, thecomputation unit 104 displays a purchase operation screen 910 at, forexample, a lowermost portion of the display 105. The purchase operationscreen 910 includes an image 911 representing the drink to be purchasedselected by the user, a quantity of purchase 912 of the drink to bepurchased, a total amount 913 required to purchase as many drinks to bepurchased as the quantity of purchase 912, and a purchase button 914 forconfirming purchase of the drink. As described above, since the image ofthe drink to be purchased, the quantity of purchase, and the totalamount required for purchase are displayed in the purchase operationscreen 910, the user can efficiently check the purchase details.

In the purchase operation screen 910, a direction indication indicatingthe transmission direction of the beacon signal transmitted by thevending machine 700 storing the drink to be purchased may be displayedbased on the information stored in the memory 102 in step S201 (FIG.7A), similarly to the image 830 included in the push notification screen800 illustrated in FIG. 9 , for example.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which theuser of the communication terminal 100 confirms purchase of the drink.As illustrated in FIG. 14 , the user who has confirmed that there is noproblem in the purchase details in the purchase operation screen 910performs a touch operation on the purchase button 914 by using thepointing body 1001 such as a finger. While a touch operation on thepurchase button 914 is continued, the computation unit 104 changes acolor and/or a pattern of the purchase button 914.

When the user releases the pointing body 1001 from the purchase button914, the purchase operation of the drink to be purchased is completed,and step S212 (FIG. 7B) is performed. Consequently, a directionindication indicating the transmission direction of the beacon signaltransmitted by the vending machine 700 (hereinafter, referred to as avending machine with the purchase target) that sells the drink selectedas the drink to be purchased is displayed on the display 105.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which theuser of the communication terminal 100 acquires the purchased drink.Specifically, in step S212, the computation unit 104 displays a paymentguidance screen 920 for guiding a method for paying for the purchaseddrink on the display 105 as illustrated in FIG. 15 .

As in the push notification screen 800C illustrated in FIG. 11 , adirection indication indicating the transmission direction of the beaconsignal transmitted by the vending machine with the purchase target isdisplayed in the payment guidance screen 920.

Specifically, the computation unit 104 displays an image 925 indicatingthe current location of the communication terminal 100. By using theinformation that indicates the transmission direction of the beaconsignal transmitted by the vending machine with the purchase target andis stored in the memory 102 in step S201 (FIG. 7A), the computation unit104 also displays an icon image 927 representing the vending machine 700in the transmission direction indicated by the information with respectto the front direction of the image 925.

By using the information that indicates the distance to the vendingmachine with the purchase target and is stored in the memory 102 in stepS201 (FIG. 7A), the computation unit 104 further displays an image 926indicating the distance from the current location of the communicationterminal 100. Thus, the user can easily move to the vending machine withthe purchase target by viewing the direction indication displayed in thepayment guidance screen 920 to acquire the drink to be purchased.

The payment guidance screen 920 includes a type 924 of the drink to bepurchased, an image 921 of the drink, a quantity of purchase 922 of thedrink, and a total amount 923 required to purchase as many drinks to bepurchased as the quantity of purchase 922. The payment guidance screen920 also includes a message 928 for guiding a method of a paymentoperation performed using the communication terminal 100 at the vendingmachine with the purchase target.

The user moves to the vending machine with the purchase target whileviewing the direction indication displayed in the payment guidancescreen 920. In accordance with the message 928 displayed in the paymentguidance screen 920, the user performs a payment operation at thevending machine with the purchase target by using the communicationterminal 100. In response to the payment operation, step S213 (FIG. 7B)is performed in the communication terminal 100 and step S272 (FIG. 7B)is performed in the vending machine with the purchase target.Consequently, the drink purchased by the user is provided to the user.

As a result of step S214 (FIG. 7B) being performed, the purchaseinformation of the drink is sent to the first server 200. Thus, stepS222 (FIG. 7B) is performed. As a result, when the user of thecommunication terminal 100 is a user with permission, the purchasehistory information of the user stored in the memory 203 of the firstserver 200 is updated based on the purchase information sent in stepS214.

Data Configurations

Data configurations of the information used in each step illustrated inFIGS. 7A and 7B will be described next.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofinformation 2100 stored in the memory 102 of the communication terminal100 at the time of receipt of a beacon signal. The information 2100illustrated in FIG. 16 is stored in the memory 102 in steps S201 andS202.

A field “beacon ID” is a field indicating the beacon ID included in thebeacon signal received in step S201 (see FIGS. 4 and 5 for the datastructure of the beacon ID). A field “beacon distance” is a fieldindicating the distance from the communication terminal 100 to thevending machine 700 that is the transmission source of the beacon signalreceived in step S201. A field “beacon direction” is a field indicatingthe transmission direction of the beacon signal received in step S201.

A field “vending machine ID” is a field indicating the vending machineID included in the identification information for identifying thevending machine 700, which is acquired in step S202 from the vendingmachine 700 that has transmitted the beacon signal received in stepS201. Fields “product information 1” to “product information 3” arefields indicating pieces of product information, on respective drinksstored in the vending machines 700, which are included in the additionalinformation acquired in step S202 from the vending machine 700 that hastransmitted the beacon signal received in step S201.

For example, in step S201, a beacon signal (first beacon signal) with abeacon ID “ID1” is received. Thus, in a first record of the information2100 illustrated in FIG. 16 , “ID1” is stored in the field “beacon ID”.In step S201, the distance to the vending machine 700 (first vendingmachine) that is the transmission source of the beacon signal isdetected to be “5.0 (m)”, and the transmission direction of the beaconsignal is also detected to be a direction rotated clockwise by “349(degrees)” with respect to the front direction of the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100. Thus, in thefirst record, “5.0” and “349” are stored in the fields “beacon distance”and “beacon direction”, respectively.

In step S202, “vending machine A” (first identification information) isacquired as the vending machine ID from the vending machine 700 that isthe transmission source of the beacon signal received in step S201.Thus, in the first record in FIG. 16 , “vending machine A” is stored inthe field “vending machine ID”.

Three types of drinks (first group of drinks) are stored in the vendingmachine 700. Product information including type information (first typeinformation) indicating that the product name is “coffee 1” and stockinformation (first stock information) indicating that the price is“130”, the quantity is “8”, and the temperature is “5”; productinformation including type information indicating that the product nameis “coffee 2” and stock information indicating that the price is “160”,the quantity is “10”, and the temperature is “5”, and productinformation including type information indicating that the product nameis “coffee 3” and stock information indicating that the price is “160”,the quantity is “7”, and the temperature is “6” are acquired from thevending machine 700. Thus, “coffee 1, 130, 8, 5”, “coffee 2, 160, 10,5”, and “coffee 3, 160, 7, 6” are stored in the fields “productinformation 1”, “product information 2”, and “product information 3”,respectively.

The information 2100 illustrated in FIG. 16 further indicates that arecord having the field “beacon ID” with “ID2” and a record having thefield “beacon ID” with “ID3” are stored since beacon signals having thebeacon IDs “ID2” and “ID3” are received, respectively.

For example, “vending machine B” (second identification information) isacquired as the vending machine ID from the vending machine 700 (secondvending machine) that is the transmission source of the beacon signal(second beacon signal) with the beacon ID “ID2”. Thus, “vending machineB” is stored in the field “vending machine ID” of the record in whichthe field “beacon ID” is “ID2”.

Three types of drinks (second group of drinks) are stored in the vendingmachine 700. Product information including type information (second typeinformation) indicating that the product name is “beer 1” and stockinformation (second stock information) indicating that the price is“250”, the quantity is “7”, and the temperature is “6”; productinformation including type information indicating that the product nameis “beer 2” and stock information indicating that the price is “250”,the quantity is “0”, and the temperature is “6”; and product informationincluding type information indicating that the product name is “beer 3”and stock information indicating that the price is “300”, the quantityis “11”, and the temperature is “13” are acquired from the vendingmachine 700. Thus, “beer 1, 250, 7, 6”, “beer 2, 250, 0, 6”, and “beer3, 300, 11, 13” are stored in the fields “product information 1”,“product information 2”, and “product information 3”, respectively.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofpurchase history information 2110 for each user stored in the memory 203of the first server 200. The purchase history information 2110illustrated in FIG. 17 is stored in the memory 203 in time series instep S222 illustrated in FIG. 7B.

A field “user ID” is a field indicating a user ID of a user whopurchased a product. A field “date and time information” is a fieldindicating the date and time when the user purchased the drink. A field“sales site ID” is a field indicating an identifier of a sales sitewhere the user purchased the product, such as a vending machine ID. Afield “purchased product name” is a field indicating the product name ofthe product purchased by the user.

For example, a second record of the purchase history information 2110illustrated in FIG. 17 indicates an example in which, purchaseinformation in which the user ID is “USR01”, the date and timeinformation is “20200414095340”, the vending machine ID is “vendingmachines A”, and the type information is “green tea (cold)” is receivedin step S222 (FIG. 7B) performed in response to purchase of a drink bythe user and “USR01”, “20200414095340”, “vending machines A”, and “greentea (cold)” are stored in the fields “user ID”, “date and timeinformation”, “sales site ID”, and “purchased product name”,respectively.

The purchase history information 2110 may be updated when the userpurchases a product at a store, such as a retail store such as aconvenience store or a supermarket or an eatery such as a restaurant ora cafe, managed by a business entity that has an affiliation with themanaging business entity of the first server 200. Specifically, wheninformation on purchase of a product by the user is sent from aninformation communication terminal such as a personal computer installedin the store to the first server 200 via the network NT (FIG. 2 ), thesame processing as step S222 may be performed, so that the purchasehistory information 2110 stored in the memory 203 may be updated basedon the information on the purchase of the product.

For example, a first record of the purchase history information 2110illustrated in FIG. 17 is a record stored in the memory 203 as thepurchase history information 2110 in response to the user identified bythe user ID “USR01” purchasing hot cappuccino and ice cream indicated bythe purchased product name “cappuccino (hot), ice cream” at 12:15:45 onApr. 13, 2020 indicated by the date and time information“20200413121545” at a sales site identified by the sales site ID “cafe AKadoma branch”.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofpreference information 2120 included in personal information of a userstored in the memory 203 of the first server 200. The preferenceinformation 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18 is generated by the computationunit 202 based on the purchase history information (FIG. 17 ) of a userwith permission in a past predetermined period stored in the memory 203of the first server 200, and is returned to the communication terminal100 of the user with permission in step S221 illustrated in FIG. 7A.

A field “user ID” is a field indicating a user ID included in theidentification information for identifying the communication terminal100 received in step S204. A field “number of purchases” is a fieldindicating the number of times the user indicated by the user ID haspurchased a product having the product name indicated in a field“product name” in the past predetermined period. The field “productname” is a field indicating the product name of the product purchased bythe user indicated by the user ID. A field “purchase date and time” is afield indicating a history of the purchase date and time of the producthaving the product name indicated in the field “product name”.

For example, the computation unit 202 generates the preferenceinformation 2120 of the user with permission, based on the purchasehistory information (FIG. 17 ) of the user with permission in the pastpredetermined period in the following manner. If the user indicated bythe user ID included in the identification information for identifyingthe communication terminal 100 received in step S204 is a user withpermission, the computation unit 202 acquires the purchase historyinformation (FIG. 17 ) of the user with permission in the pastpredetermined period stored in the memory 203. The past predeterminedperiod is determined to be a fixed period such as five years in the pastfrom the present, for example. However, the past predetermined period isnot limited to a fixed period. For example, information indicating thepast predetermined period may be sent together with the signalrequesting sending of the preference information of the user in stepS204 (FIG. 7A).

The computation unit 202 refers to the field “purchased product name” ofthe acquired purchase history information (FIG. 17 ) of the user withpermission in the past predetermined period, and extracts the productnames sequentially from the product name with the highest number ofpurchases. For each of the extracted product names, the computation unit202 stores the user ID of the user with permission in the field “userID”, the number of purchases of the product having the extracted productname in the field “number of purchases”, and the extracted product namein the field “product name”. The computation unit 202 acquires the dateand time information stored in the field “date and time information”from the records including the extracted product name in the field“purchased product name” in the acquired purchase history information(FIG. 17 ) of the user with permission in the past predetermined period,and stores the dates and times indicated by the acquired pieces of dateand time information in the field “purchase date and time” in descendingorder (from the most recent date to the past). This order is not limitedto descending order, and may be ascending order or random order.

For example, suppose that the product name most frequently stored in thefield “purchased product name” of the purchase history information (FIG.17 ) of the user with permission having the user ID “USR01” in the pastpredetermined period is “green tea (cold)” and the number of recordsincluding this product name in the field “purchased product name” is“167”. That is, the number of purchases of the drink having this productname is “167” times.

In this case, as illustrated in a first record of the preferenceinformation 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18 , “USR01”, “167”, and “green tea(cold)” are stored in the fields “user ID”, “number of purchases”, and“product name”, respectively. The date and time information stored inthe field “date and time information” is acquired from 167 recordsincluding the product name “green tea (cold)” in the field “purchasedproduct name” in the purchase history information (FIG. 17 ) of the userwith permission having the user ID “USR01” in the past predeterminedperiod. 167 dates and times such as “20200414223442, 20200414095340,”indicated by the acquired pieces of date and time information are storedin descending order in the field “purchase date and time” of the firstrecord of the preference information 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18 .

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofweather information 2200 of a current location of the communicationterminal 100. The weather information 2200 of the current location ofthe communication terminal 100 illustrated in FIG. 19 is acquired fromthe second server 500 in step S206 illustrated in FIG. 7B.

A field “temperature (Celsius)” is a field indicating a temperature ofthe current location of the communication terminal 100 in degreesCelsius. Fields “humidity”, “a heat index (wet-bulb globe temperature:WBGT)”, “solar radiation”, and “weather type” are fields indicating ahumidity, a heat index (WBGT), a solar radiation, and a weather type atthe current location of the communication terminal 100, respectively.The solar radiation is, for example, an integrated value of solarradiation at the current location of the communication terminal 100 inthe most recent one hour, and the unit thereof is megajoules per squaremeter (MJ/m²).

For example, suppose that when step S206 illustrated in FIG. 7B isperformed, the memory 503 of the second server 500 stores weatherinformation indicating that the temperature is “28° C.”, the humidity is“75%”, the heat index is “29° C.”, the solar radiation is “3.1 MJ/m²”,and the weather type is “sunny” in association with date and timeinformation indicating the date and time closest to the execution timeof step S206, as weather information of a region including the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 at the execution time of stepS206.

In this case, in step S206, the weather information 2200 illustrated inFIG. 19 in which “28 (° C.)”, “75(%)”, “29 (° C.)”, “3.1 (MJ/m²)”, and“sunny” are respectively stored in the fields “temperature (Celsius)”,“humidity”, “heat index (WBGT)”, “solar radiation”, and “weather type”is acquired from the second server 500.

The weather information stored in the memory 503 of the second server500 is not limited this, and may include at least one or more of thefields “temperature (Celsius)”, “humidity”, “heat index (WBGT)”, “solarradiation”, or “weather type”.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration ofa history 2210 of the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal 100. As described above, the computation unit 104periodically performs step S206, and stores the weather informationacquired from the second server 500 and the date and time informationindicating the acquisition date and time in association with each otherin the memory 102 in time series, as the history 2210 of the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100 asillustrated in FIG. 20 .

A field “date and time information” is a field for storing date and timeinformation indicating the acquisition date and time of the weatherinformation from the second server 500. A field “weather information” isa field for storing the weather information acquired from the secondserver 500. Similarly to the weather information 2200 illustrated inFIG. 19 , the field “weather information” includes subfields“temperature (Celsius)”, “humidity”, “heat index (WBGT)”, “solarradiation”, and “weather type” for respectively storing the temperature,the humidity, the heat index, the solar radiation, and the weather typeincluded in the weather information.

For example, the history 2210 of the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 illustrated in FIG. 20indicates an example in which step S206 is performed every hour from6:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020 indicated by the date and time information“20200414060000” to 9:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020 indicated by the date andtime information “20200414090000”, and the date and time informationindicating the date and time when each step S206 is performed and theweather information acquired in corresponding step S206 are stored inthe memory 102 in time series.

As described above, the history 2210 of the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 stored in the memory102 may be sent to the first server 200, and may be managed as personalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 in the firstserver 200.

Process of Determining at Least One Drink that Matches Preference ofUser

A drink determination process of determining at least one drink thatmatches a preference of the user of the communication terminal 100, isrecommended in the push notification screen 800, and is displayed in theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user will be described next byusing a specific example. The drink determination process is performedwhen the push notification screen 800 is generated, and a result of thedrink determination process is used when the individual purchase menu900 for the user is generated.

In the present embodiment, in the drink determination process, at leastone drink that matches the preference, indicated by the preferenceinformation, of the user of the communication terminal 100 is determinedin relation to the weather, indicated by the weather information, at thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 from among aplurality of drinks stored in the vending machines 700 that aretransmission sources of respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107, by using each combination of theidentification information of each of the vending machines 700 that arethe transmission sources and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information that are acquired prior to thedrink determination process.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the drinkdetermination process. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of awork table 2400 used in the drink determination process.

Suppose that in this specific example, the product information includedin the information 2100 illustrated in FIG. 16 , the preferenceinformation 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18 , the weather information 2200illustrated in FIG. 19 , and the history 2210 of the weather informationillustrated in FIG. 20 are acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess.

As illustrated in FIG. 21 , the computation unit 104 first refers toeach piece of product information (FIG. 16 ) acquired prior to the drinkdetermination process, and determines whether a drink corresponding tothe piece of product information is available for sale, based on thetype information and the stock information included in the piece ofproduct information. The computation unit 104 then stores a result ofthe determination in the work table 2400 illustrated in FIG. 22 (stepS301). Thus, drinks determined to be not available for sale can beexcluded from drinks recommended to the user.

Specifically, in step S301, the computation unit 104 determines that adrink corresponding to a piece of product information in which thequantity information included in the stock information indicates aquantity “0” is a drink that is sold out and thus is not available forsale. The computation unit 104 also determines that a drinkcorresponding to a piece of product information in which the temperatureindicated by the temperature information included in the stockinformation is out of the predetermined temperature range in which thedrink is providable to users is a drink that has an unsuitabletemperature and thus is not available for sale. In this specificexample, the predetermined temperature range for cold drinks is higherthan or equal to 4° C. and lower than or equal to 7° C. In this specificexample (FIG. 16 ), hot drinks are not handled. However, thepredetermined temperature range for hot drinks is higher than or equalto 53° C. and lower than or equal to 57° C.

In the example of FIG. 16 , in the record with the beacon ID “ID2”, thedrink corresponding to the piece of product information in which thequantity indicated by the quantity information included in the stockinformation is “0” and the product name indicated by the typeinformation is “beer 2” is determined to be a drink not available forsale. In the record with the beacon ID “ID2”, the drink corresponding tothe piece of product information in which the temperature indicated bythe temperature information included in the stock information is “13”and the product name indicated by the type information is “beer 3” isdetermined to be a drink not available for sale. The drinkscorresponding to the seven pieces of product information excluding thesetwo pieces of product information are determined to be drinks availablefor sale.

As illustrated in FIG. 22 , the computation unit 104 refers to eachpiece of product information (FIG. 16 ) acquired prior to the drinkdetermination process, and stores the product name (for example,coffee 1) indicated by the type information included in the productinformation in the field “product name” of the work table 2400illustrated in FIG. 22 . The computation unit 104 then stores a resultof the determination obtained in step S301 in a field “available forsale” of the work table 2400.

“OK” in the field “available for sale” in FIG. 22 indicates that thedrink with the product name (for example, coffee 2) indicated by thefield “product name” corresponding to the field “available for sale” isdetermined to be a drink available for sale. “NG (sold out)” in thefield “available for sale” in FIG. 22 indicates that the drink with theproduct name (for example, beer 2) indicated by the field “product name”corresponding to the field “available for sale” is determined to be soldout and thus is a drink not available for sale. “NG (unsuitabletemperature)” in the field “available for sale” in FIG. 22 indicatesthat the drink with the product name (for example, beer 3) indicated bythe field “product name” corresponding to the field “available for sale”is determined to have an unsuitable temperature and thus is a drink notavailable for sale.

Next, based on the product information (FIG. 16 ) on the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S301 and the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ), the weather information 2200 (FIG. 19 ),and the history 2210 of the weather information (FIG. 20 ) that havebeen acquired prior to the drink determination process, the computationunit 104 counts the number of times (hereinafter, referred to as thenumber of purchases under the similar weather) the user of thecommunication terminal 100 has purchased each of the drinks determinedto be available for sale in step S301 in the past under a weathercondition similar to the current weather condition among the number ofpurchases of the drink (step S302).

Specifically, in step S302, the computation unit 104 refers to eachrecord of the preference information 2120 (FIG. 18 ) acquired prior tothe drink determination process, and acquires the product name (forexample, green tea (cold)) of each drink stored in the field “productname” and the number of purchases (for example, 167) indicated by thefield “number of purchases”. Then, in the work table 2400 illustrated inFIG. 22 , the computation unit 104 stores the acquired number ofpurchases (for example, 167) in a field “past preference (number ofpurchases)” in a record in which the acquired product name (for example,green tea (cold)) of the drink is stored in the field “product name”.

In the work table 2400 illustrated in FIG. 22 , the computation unit 104stores “0” in the field “past preference (number of purchases)” in arecord in which a product name that is not acquired from the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) is stored in the field “product name”. Thus,it is possible to grasp that the user does not like the drink with theproduct name that is not acquired from the preference information 2120(FIG. 18 ).

The computation unit 104 then determines that weather informationsatisfying all of three conditions 1) to 3) below that use the weatherinformation 2200 (FIG. 19 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess among the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather informationacquired prior to the drink determination process is weather information(hereinafter, referred to as similar weather information) indicating aweather condition similar to the current weather condition. Thecomputation unit 104 then acquires date and time information(hereinafter, referred to as similar weather date and time information)associated with the similar weather information from the history 2210(FIG. 20 ) of the weather information.

Condition 1): The temperature indicated by the field “temperature(Celsius)” is within ±5° C. from the temperature indicated by the field“temperature (Celsius)” of the weather information 2200.

Condition 2): The humidity indicated by the field “humidity” is within±20% from the humidity indicated by the field “humidity” of the weatherinformation 2200.

Condition 3): The heat index indicated by the field “heat index (WBGT)”is within ±5° C. from the heat index indicated by the field “heat index(WBGT)” of the weather information 2200.

For example, four pieces of weather information included in the history2210 of the weather information illustrated in FIG. 20 satisfy all ofthe above-described three conditions 1) to 3) that use the weatherinformation 2200 illustrated in FIG. 19 . Thus, the computation unit 104determines that the four pieces of weather information are the similarweather information, and acquires four pieces of date and timeinformation “20200414060000”, “20200414070000”, “20200414080000”, and“20200414090000” associated with the respective four pieces of weatherinformation included in the history 2210 of the weather informationillustrated in FIG. 20 , as the similar weather date and timeinformation.

The conditions for determining the similar weather information are notlimited to the three conditions 1) to 3) described above, and may be oneor more conditions that use one or more values indicated by one or morefields among the fields “temperature (Celsius)”, “humidity”, “heat index(WBGT)”, “solar radiation”, or “weather type” included in the weatherinformation 2200 (FIG. 19 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess. For example, the similar weather information and the similarweather date and time information may be acquired by using the condition3) of the heat index (WBGT).

In step S302, the computation unit 104 then refers to the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess, and counts the number of times each drink determined to beavailable for sale in step S301 has been purchased within apredetermined time from the date and time indicated by the similarweather date and time information, as the number of purchases of thedrink under the similar weather. In this specific example, thepredetermined time is one hour.

Specifically, in the preference information 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18, the computation unit 104 refers to the field “purchase date and time”of a record in which the product name (for example, green tea (cold)) ofeach drink determined to be available for sale in step S301 is writtenin the field “product name”. The computation unit 104 then counts, asthe number of purchases of each drink under the similar weather, thenumber of dates and times in the field “purchase date and time” of thedrink included in a period between dates and times (for example, from5:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020 to 7:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020) that are withinthe predetermined time from the date and time (for example, 6:00:00 onApr. 14, 2020) indicated by each similar weather date and timeinformation among the dates and times (for example, 20200414223442,20200414095340, . . . ) stored in the field “purchase date and time” towhich a reference is made.

In the work table 2400 illustrated in FIG. 22 , the computation unit 104then stores the counted number of purchases under the similar weather(for example, 103) in the field “past preference under similar weathercondition (number of purchases)” of a record in which the product name(for example, green tea (cold)) of the drink is stored in the field“product name”.

The computation unit 104 then assigns higher priorities to the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S301 in descending order ofthe number of purchases of the drink under the similar weather countedin step S302 by assuming that the drink for which the number ofpurchases under the similar weather is larger is more likely to matchthe preference of the user of the communication terminal 100 in relationto the weather at the current location of the communication terminal 100(step S303).

For example, suppose that as a result of steps S301 and S302, theproduct name indicated by the type information included in each piece ofproduct information illustrated in FIG. 16 , the determination resultobtained in step S301, the number of purchases of each drink determinedto be available for sale in step S301, and the number of purchases ofeach drink under the similar weather counted in step S302 are stored inthe fields “product name”, “available for sale”, “past preference(number of purchases)”, and “past preference under similar weathercondition (number of purchases)” of each record of the work table 2400,respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 22 .

In this case, in step S303, the computation unit 104 assigns the highestpriority “1” to the drink of which the product name is “green tea(cold)” and of which the number of purchases under the similar weatherstored in the field “past preference under similar weather condition(number of purchases)” is the largest, i.e., “103”. The computation unit104 then stores the assigned priority “1” in the field “priority” of therecord corresponding to the drink in the work table 2400.

The computation unit 104 then assigns the priority “2”, which is thenext highest priority of the priority “1”, to the drink of which theproduct name is “carbonated drink (cold)” and of which the number ofpurchases under the similar weather stored in the field “past preferenceunder similar weather condition (number of purchases)” is the nextlargest, i.e., “45”. The computation unit 104 then stores the assignedpriority “2” in the field “priority” of the record corresponding to thedrink in the work table 2400.

Likewise, the priority “3” is assigned to the drink with the productname “sports drink”, and the priority “4” is assigned to the drink withthe product name “coffee 2”. The computation unit 104 assigns the nextpriority (in this specific example, “5”) to the drinks which aredetermined to be available for sale (for example, the drinks with theproduct names “coffee 1”, “coffee 3”, and “beer 1”) and of which thenumber of purchases under the similar weather counted in step S302 is“0”.

The computation unit 104 does not assign priorities to the drinksdetermined to be not available for sale in step S301 (for example, thedrinks with the product names “beer 2” and “beer 3”). Thus, thecomputation unit 104 stores “−” indicating that the drink is notrecommended to the user in the field “priority” of each recordcorresponding to the drink not available for sale in the work table2400.

In the first embodiment, in step S207 (FIG. 7B), the computation unit104 performs the drink determination process of step S301 to step S303.The computation unit 104 then generates a message that recommends adrink corresponding to a record in which “1” is stored in the field“priority” of the work table 2400 illustrated in FIG. 22 , as themessage 820 of the push notification screens 800B and 800C illustratedin FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively. The computation unit 104 alsogenerates a product image representing the drink corresponding to therecord in which “1” is stored in the field “priority” of the work table2400 illustrated in FIG. 22 , as the icon image 840 of the pushnotification screens 800B and 800C illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 ,respectively.

In step S210 (FIG. 7B), with reference to the work table 2400illustrated in FIG. 22 , which is obtained by performing steps S301 toS303 of step S207 (FIG. 7B), the computation unit 104 generates theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user, in which the tile objects 901(such as FIG. 12 ) representing the drinks corresponding to therespective records in which the priorities are stored in the field“priority” are arranged according to the stored priorities.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100generates the push notification screen 800 and the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user of the communication terminal 100, and notifiesthe first server 200 of the purchase information of the drink by theuser.

The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that thebusiness entity management server 300 that provides the business entityX application generates the push notification screen 800 and theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user of the communication terminal100 and notifies the first server 200 of the purchase information of thedrink by the user.

In the second embodiment, the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100owned by a user with permission is managed as personal information ofthe user with permission in the first server 200.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the second embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the first embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 23Aand 23B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in thesecond embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 23A, the proximity communication unit 707 of eachof the vending machines 700 included in the vending machine managementsystem periodically transmits a beacon signal (step S271) as in thefirst embodiment.

The business entity X application is executed in the communicationterminal 100, so that step S201 is performed as in the first embodiment.Thus, information indicating the distance to the vending machine 700that is the transmission source of the beacon signal and thetransmission direction of the beacon signal as well as the beacon ID arestored in the memory 102. Step S202 is performed, so that theidentification information for identifying the vending machine 700 andthe product information including the type information and the stockinformation are stored in the memory 102.

After step S202, if the preference information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 is stored in the memory 102 ([preferenceinformation stored]), the computation unit 104 acquires the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 stored in thememory 102 (step S205 a).

The computation unit 104 then controls the communication unit 101 tosend, to the business entity management server 300, pieces ofinformation stored in the memory 102, i.e., the identificationinformation for identifying the communication terminal 100 including theuser ID, the information that indicates the distance to each vendingmachine 700 which is the transmission source of the beacon signal andthe transmission direction of the beacon signal and that is acquired instep S201, the preference information acquired in step S205 a, and theidentification information of the vending machine 700 which is thetransmission source of the beacon signal and the product informationthat are acquired in step S202 (step S203 a).

In response to this, in the business entity management server 300, basedon the identification information of the vending machine 700 and theproduct information acquired via the communication unit 301, thecomputation unit 302 updates the product information of the vendingmachine 700 corresponding to the identification information and storedin the memory 303.

In this way, each time the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 receives a beacon signal transmitted from theproximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700, theprocessing from step S201 to step S203 a is repeated in response to thereceipt.

In response to detecting that a plurality of beacon signals transmittedfrom the plurality of vending machines 700 are received by the proximitycommunication unit 107, the computation unit 104 may repeatedly performmerely steps S201 and S202 at receipt of each of the beacon signals bythe proximity communication unit 107 and may perform steps S205 a andS203 a just once. Thus, the computation unit 104 may collectively sendthe identification information for identifying the communicationterminal 100 including the user ID, the preference information acquiredin step S205 a, and the pieces of information acquired in steps S201 andS202 to the business entity management server 300 in single step S203 a.

Suppose that the business entity X that provides the business entity Xapplication has an affiliation with the managing business entity of thefirst server 200 and that the business entity X is permitted to acquirepersonal information of each user stored in the first server 200. Inthis case ([with affiliation between business entities]), thecomputation unit 302 of the business entity management server 300controls the communication unit 301 to send, to the first server 200, asignal requesting the preference information of the user identified bythe user ID included in the identification information and the history2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information of the current location ofthe communication terminal 100 owned by the user, together with theidentification information for identifying the communication terminal100 acquired from the communication terminal 100 (step S231).

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 and the signal requesting the preferenceinformation of the user and the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weatherinformation that are sent in step S231, the computation unit 202performs step S221 a (step S221 a).

Specifically, in step S221 a, if the computation unit 202 determinesthat the user indicated by the user ID included in the identificationinformation received by the communication unit 201 is a user withpermission ([with permission of user]), the computation unit 202controls the communication unit 201 to return the preference informationof the user with permission and the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of theweather information that are acquired from the memory 203 to thebusiness entity management server 300. On the other hand, if thecomputation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 controls thecommunication unit 201 to return information indicating that thepersonal information is inaccessible to the business entity managementserver 300. The returned information is received and output to thecomputation unit 302 by the communication unit 301 of the businessentity management server 300.

If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 may control thecommunication unit 201 to send a message for checking whether to permitthe business entity management server 300 to read the personalinformation, to the communication terminal 100 indicated by theidentification information acquired from the business entity managementserver 300. Suppose that in response to this, the computation unit 202acquires a reply indicating permission from the communication terminal100 via the communication unit 201. In this case, the computation unit202 may acquire, from the memory 203, the preference informationincluded in the personal information of the user indicated by the userID included in the received identification information and the history2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information in step S221 a. Thecomputation unit 202 then may cause the communication unit 201 to returnthe acquired information to the business entity management server 300.

Next, the computation unit 302 performs step S233 to acquire the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100(or the installed location of the target vending machine) (step S233).

Specifically, in step S233, the computation unit 302 acquires, from thememory 303, location information that indicates a location where any oneof the vending machines 700 is installed and that is associated with theidentification information of the one of the vending machines 700received from the communication terminal 100. Thus, the computation unit302 acquires the location information indicating the installed locationof the one of the vending machines 700 located near the communicationterminal 100, as the location information indicating the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100.

The computation unit 302 then controls the communication unit 301 tosend, together with the acquired location information, a signalrequesting weather information of a region including the locationindicated by the location information to the second server 500. If theweather information of the region including the installed location ofthe one of the vending machines 700 is returned from the second server500 in response to this, the computation unit 302 acquires the returnedweather information as the weather information of the current locationof the communication terminal 100 via the communication unit 301.

In step S233, the computation unit 302 may control the communicationunit 301 to send, together with the location information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100, a signal requesting weatherinformation of a region including the location indicated by the locationinformation to the second server 500. Thus, the computation unit 302 maydirectly acquire the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal 100 from the second server 500. In step S203 a,the computation unit 104 may control the communication unit 101 to sendthe location information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 to the business entity management server 300 together withthe identification information for identifying the communicationterminal 100 including the user ID and so on. The computation unit 302may acquire the sent location information of the current location of thecommunication terminal 100 via the communication unit 301.

As in the first embodiment, in response to receipt of the signalrequesting the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal 100 via the communication unit 501, thecomputation unit 502 of the second server 500 reads, from the memory503, weather information associated with date and time informationindicating the most recent date and time, for example, from among piecesof weather information of the region including the location indicated bythe location information included in the signal, and causes thecommunication unit 501 to return the read weather information. Theacquisition method is not limited to this. The computation unit 502 mayread one or more pieces of weather information associated with date andtime information indicating a past predetermined period from thereception time of the signal, for example, from among the pieces ofweather information, stored in the memory 503, of the region includingthe location indicated by the location information included in thesignal received by the communication unit 501, and cause thecommunication unit 501 to return the read one or more pieces of weatherinformation.

Next, the computation unit 302 generates the push notification screen800, based on each combination of the identification information of thevending machines 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, and theweather information that are acquired in the preceding steps (stepS234). Each combination of the identification information of the vendingmachines 700 and the type information and the stock information includedin the product information is a combination sent and acquired via thecommunication unit 301 in step S203 a. The preference information is thepreference information sent and acquired via the communication unit 301in step S203 a and the preference information returned and acquired viathe communication unit 301 in step S221 a. The weather information isthe history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information returned andacquired via the communication unit 301 in step S221 a and the weatherinformation acquired in step S233.

In the second embodiment, in step S234, the computation unit 302performs the drink determination process (steps S301 to S303 (FIG. 21 ))by using each combination of the identification information of thevending machine 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, and theweather information. Thus, the computation unit 302 generates a messagethat recommends a drink corresponding to a record in which “1” is storedin the field “priority” of the work table 2400 (FIG. 22 ), as themessage 820 of the push notification screens 800B and 800C illustratedin FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively. The computation unit 302 alsogenerates a product image representing the drink corresponding to therecord in which “1” is stored in the field “priority” of the work table2400 (FIG. 22 ), as the icon image 840 of the push notification screens800B and 800C illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively.

Next, the computation unit 302 controls the communication unit 301 tosend information representing the push notification screen 800 generatedin step S234 to the communication terminal 100 (step S235).

On the other hand, in the communication terminal 100, in response toacquiring, via the communication unit 101, the information representingthe push notification screen 800 sent in step S235, the computation unit104 displays the push notification screen 800 represented by theacquired information on the display 105 of the communication terminal100 (step S208 a). The computation unit 104 may display the pushnotification screen 800 on the display 105 and may drive a vibrationgenerator (not illustrated) built in the communication terminal 100 toallow the user of the communication terminal 100 to easily notice thepush notification. The computation unit 104 may display the pushnotification screen 800 on the display 105 and reproduce a soundreporting receipt of the push notification from a speaker (notillustrated) built in the communication terminal 100 to allow the userof the communication terminal 100 to easily notice the pushnotification.

If receipt of a beacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107 isnot detected for a predetermined time or more since the pushnotification screen 800 is displayed in step S208 a, ([without receiptof beacon signal for predetermined time or more]), the computation unit104 performs processing of hiding the displayed push notification screen800 to hide the push notification screen 800. The computation unit 104then ends the process (step S209). After ending the process, thecomputation unit 104 returns to a state of waiting for receipt of abeacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107.

On the other hand, if the user performs an operation (for example, atouch operation) of selecting the push notification screen 800 by usingthe operation unit 106 ([push notification screen selected]), thecomputation unit 104 controls the communication unit 101 to send asignal requesting generation of the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100 to the business entity managementserver 300 (step S210 a). The signal requesting generation of theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user is received and output to thecomputation unit 302 by the communication unit 301 of the businessentity management server 300.

In response to acquiring, via the communication unit 301, the signalrequesting generation of the individual purchase menu 900 for the userof the communication terminal 100 sent in step S210 a, the computationunit 302 generates the individual purchase menu 900 for the user of thecommunication terminal 100, based on the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information that are used in step S234(step S236).

In the second embodiment, in step S236, the computation unit 302 refersto the work table 2400 (FIG. 22 ) obtained by performing the drinkdetermination process (steps S301 to S303 (FIG. 21 )) in step S234 byusing the type information and stock information included in the productinformation described above, the preference information, and the weatherinformation. The computation unit 302 then generates the individualpurchase menu 900 in which the tile objects 901 (such as FIG. 12 )representing the drinks corresponding to the respective records in whichthe priorities are stored in the field “priority” are arranged accordingto the stored priorities.

Next, the computation unit 302 controls the communication unit 301 tosend information representing the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100, generated in step S236, to thecommunication terminal 100 (step S237).

In the communication terminal 100, in response to acquiring, via thecommunication unit 101, the information representing the individualpurchase menu 900 for the user of the communication terminal 100 sent instep S237, the computation unit 104 displays the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user of the communication terminal 100 represented bythe acquired information on the display 105 of the communicationterminal 100 (step S211 a).

After step S211 a, as in the first embodiment, steps S212, S213, andS272 are performed, so that the drink purchased by the user is providedto the user.

After step S213, the computation unit 104 of the communication terminal100 controls the communication unit 101 to send the purchase informationof the drink to the business entity management server 300 (step S214 a).Thus, in the business entity management server 300, the purchaseinformation of the drink sent in step S214 a is received and output tothe computation unit 302 by the communication unit 301. The purchaseinformation of the drink includes the user ID of the user of thecommunication terminal 100, the date and time information indicating thepurchase date and time of the drink by the user, the identificationinformation for identifying the vending machine 700 from which the userpurchased the drink, and the type information indicating the type of thedrink purchased by the user.

In response to acquiring the purchase information of the drink from thecommunication unit 301, the computation unit 302 of the business entitymanagement server 300 causes the communication unit 301 to send a signalrequesting update of the purchase history information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 to the first server 200 together with theacquired purchase information of the drink (step S238). In response tothis, step S222 is performed in the first server 200 as in the firstembodiment, and if the user of the communication terminal 100 is a userwith permission, the purchase history information of the user withpermission stored in the memory 203 is updated.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. Inthe first embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100generates the push notification screen 800 and the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user, based on each combination of the identificationinformation of each of the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources of respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107 and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100, and theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100.

The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100generates the push notification screen 800 and the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user, based on each combination of the identificationinformation of each of the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources of respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107 and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100, andbiological information of the user.

Thus, in the third embodiment, each combination of the identificationinformation of each of the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources of the respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107 and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100, and thebiological information of the user, which are acquired prior to thedrink determination process, are used in the drink determination processperformed when the push notification screen 800 is generated. In thedrink determination process, at least one drink that matches apreference of the user indicated by the preference information isdetermined, in relation to the current physical condition of the user ofthe communication terminal 100 indicated by the biological information,from among a plurality of drinks stored in the vending machines 700 thatare the transmission sources of the respective beacon signals receivedby the communication terminal 100.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the third embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the first embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 24Aand 24B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in thethird embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 24A, the proximity communication unit 707 of eachof the vending machines 700 included in the vending machine managementsystem periodically transmits a beacon signal (step S271) as in thefirst embodiment. The business entity X application is executed in thecommunication terminal 100, so that each time the proximitycommunication unit 107 of the communication terminal 100 receives abeacon signal transmitted from the proximity communication unit 707 ofthe vending machine 700, the processing from step S201 to step S203 isrepeated in response to the receipt as in the first embodiment.

In response to detecting that a plurality of beacon signals transmittedfrom the plurality of vending machines 700 are received by the proximitycommunication unit 107, the computation unit 104 may perform merelysteps S201 and S202 at receipt of each of the beacon signals by theproximity communication unit 107 and may perform step S203 just once, asin the first embodiment.

Suppose that the business entity X that provides the business entity Xapplication has an affiliation with the managing business entity of thefirst server 200 and that the business entity X is permitted to acquire,via the business entity X application, personal information of each userstored in the first server 200. In this case ([with affiliation betweenbusiness entities]), the computation unit 104 of the communicationterminal 100 controls the communication unit 101 to send, to the firstserver 200, a signal requesting preference information and biologicalinformation of the user identified by the user ID included in theidentification information, together with identification information foridentifying the communication terminal 100 stored in the memory 102(step S204 b).

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 and the signal requesting the preferenceinformation and the biological information of the user, which are sentin step S204 b, the computation unit 202 performs processing of stepS221 b (step S221 b).

Specifically, in step S221 b, if the computation unit 202 determinesthat the user indicated by the user ID included in the identificationinformation received by the communication unit 201 is a user withpermission ([with permission of user]) as in step S221 (FIG. 7A)according to the first embodiment, the computation unit 202 acquires thepreference information and the biological information included in thepersonal information of the user with permission from the memory 203 andcauses the communication unit 201 to return the acquired preferenceinformation and biological information. On the other hand, if thecomputation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 causes thecommunication unit 201 to return information indicating that thepersonal information is inaccessible. The returned information isreceived and output to the computation unit 104 by the communicationunit 101 of the communication terminal 100.

If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 may cause thecommunication unit 201 to return a message for checking whether topermit reading of the personal information stored in the memory 203.Suppose that in response to this, the computation unit 202 acquires areply indicating permission from the communication terminal 100 via thecommunication unit 201. In this case, the computation unit 202 mayacquire, from the memory 203, the preference information and thebiological information included in the personal information of the userindicated by the user ID included in the received identificationinformation, and cause the communication unit 201 to return the acquiredinformation in step S221 b.

Next, if the preference information and/or the biological information ofthe user of the communication terminal 100 is stored in the memory 102of the communication terminal 100 ([preference/biological informationstored]), the computation unit 104 acquires the preference informationand/or the biological information of the user within a range notoverlapping the preference information and the biological informationreturned in step S221 b (step S205 b). There is a possibility that thelatest biological information is sent from the biological sensor 600 tothe communication terminal 100 and is accumulated and managed by thesensor application but is not uploaded to the first server 200 yet.Since the drink determination process (described below) is performedalso using the latest biological information, the latest biologicalinformation stored in the memory 102 of the communication terminal 100in this manner is also acquired in step S205 b.

After step S205 b, the computation unit 104 generates the pushnotification screen 800, based on each combination of the identificationinformation of the vending machines 700 and the type information and thestock information included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, and the biological information that are acquired in thepreceding steps (step S207 b). Each combination of the identificationinformation of the vending machines 700 and the type information and thestock information included in the product information is the combinationacquired in step S202 each time a beacon signal is received. Thepreference information is the preference information returned andacquired via the communication unit 101 in step S221 b and thepreference information acquired in step S205 b. The biologicalinformation is the biological information returned and acquired via thecommunication unit 101 in step S221 b and the biological informationacquired in step S205 b.

In the third embodiment, in step S207 b, the computation unit 104performs the drink determination process (described below) by using eachcombination of the identification information of the vending machine 700and the type information and the stock information included in theproduct information, the preference information, and the biologicalinformation.

The computation unit 104 then displays the push notification screen 800generated in step S207 b on the display 105 of the communicationterminal 100 (step S208). The computation unit 104 may display the pushnotification screen 800 on the display 105 and may drive a vibrationgenerator (not illustrated) built in the communication terminal 100 toallow the user of the communication terminal 100 to easily notice thepush notification. The computation unit 104 may display the pushnotification screen 800 on the display 105 and reproduce a soundreporting receipt of the push notification from a speaker (notillustrated) built in the communication terminal 100 to allow the userof the communication terminal 100 to easily notice the pushnotification.

If receipt of a beacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107 isnot detected for a predetermined time or more since the pushnotification screen is displayed in step S208 ([without receipt ofbeacon signal for predetermined time or more]), the computation unit 104performs processing of hiding the displayed push notification screen tohide the push notification screen. The computation unit 104 then endsthe process (step S209). After ending the process, the computation unit104 returns to a state of waiting for receipt of a beacon signal by theproximity communication unit 107.

On the other hand, if the user performs an operation (for example, atouch operation) of selecting the push notification screen 800 by usingthe operation unit 106 ([push notification screen selected]), thecomputation unit 104 generates the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100, based on the type informationand the stock information included in the product information, thepreference information, and the biological information that are used instep S207 b (step S210 b).

In the third embodiment, in step S210 b, the computation unit 104generates the individual purchase menu 900 with reference to a worktable (described later) obtained by performing the drink determinationprocess (described later) in step S207 b by using the type informationand the stock information included in the product information, thepreference information, and the biological information.

The computation unit 104 displays the individual purchase menu 900 forthe user of the communication terminal 100 generated in step S210 b onthe display 105 of the communication terminal 100 (step S211). Afterstep S211, steps S212 to S214, S272, and S222 are performed as in thefirst embodiment. Thus, the drink purchased by the user is provided tothe user. If the user of the communication terminal 100 is a user withpermission, the first server 200 updates the purchase historyinformation of the user with permission stored in the memory 203.

Data Configurations

A data configuration of the biological information will be describednext. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a biologicalinformation table 2300. As described above, the memory 203 of the firstserver 200 has the biological information table 2300 for storing thebiological information collected from the biological sensor 600 by thesensor application in the communication terminal 100 in time series inassociation with the user ID of the user of the communication terminal100 and the measurement date and time information indicating themeasurement date and time of the biological information. There is apossibility that the most recent biological information in thebiological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 is stored onlyin the memory 102 of the communication terminal 100. Thus, the latestbiological information may be acquired from the communication terminal100 instead of the first server 200.

In response to a request for the biological information of the user ofthe communication terminal 100 via the communication unit 201, thecomputation unit 202 of the first server 200 acquires a record includingthe user ID of the user from the biological information table 2300illustrated in FIG. 25 , and returns the acquired record as thebiological information of the user.

A field “user ID” of the biological information table 2300 is a fieldindicating the user ID of the user of the communication terminal 100. Afield “measurement date and time” is a field indicating the measurementdate and time information. A “biological information” is a fieldindicating the biological information acquired from the communicationterminal 100. The field “biological information” includes subfields“systolic blood pressure”, “diastolic blood pressure”, “heart rate”,“body water percentage”, and “body temperature” indicating the systolicblood pressure, the diastolic blood pressure, the heart rate, the bodywater percentage, and the body temperature of the user, respectively.The field “biological information” is not limited to this, and mayinclude at least one or more of the fields “systolic blood pressure”,“diastolic blood pressure”, “heart rate”, “body water percentage”, or“body temperature”.

For example, the biological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG.25 presents an example in which pieces of biological information of theuser having the user ID “USR01” measured every hour from 6:00:00 on Apr.14, 2020 indicated by the measurement date and time information“20200414060000” to 9:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020 indicated by the date andtime information “20200414090000” are stored in time series.

For example, the biological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG.25 presents an example in which the biological information of the userhaving the user ID “USR01”, which indicates that the systolic bloodpressure, the diastolic blood pressure, the heart rate, the body waterpercentage, and the body temperature measured at 6:00:00 on Apr. 14,2020 are “124 mmHg”, “79 mmHg”, “76 beats/min”, “57.0%”, and “36.2° C.”are stored in the fields “systolic blood pressure”, “diastolic bloodpressure”, “heart rate”, “body water percentage”, and “body temperature”of a record in which the field “user ID” is “USR01” and the field“measurement date and time” is “20200414060000” which indicates 6:00:00on Apr. 14, 2020, respectively.

Process of Determining at Least One Drink that Matches Preference ofUser

A drink determination process of determining at least one drink thatmatches a preference of the user of the communication terminal 100, isrecommended in the push notification screen 800, and is displayed in theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user in the third embodiment willbe described next by using a specific example. The drink determinationprocess is performed when the push notification screen 800 is generated,and a result of the drink determination process is used when theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user is generated.

In the present embodiment, in the drink determination process, at leastone drink that matches the preference, indicated by the preferenceinformation, of the user of the communication terminal 100 is determinedin relation to the current physical condition, indicated by thebiological information, of the user of the communication terminal 100from among a plurality of drinks stored in the vending machines 700 thatare transmission sources of respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107, by using each combination of theidentification information of each of the vending machines 700 that arethe transmission sources and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, and the biological information that are acquired prior tothe drink determination process.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the drinkdetermination process. FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of awork table 2500 used in the drink determination process illustrated inFIG. 26 .

Suppose that in this specific example, the product information includedin the information 2100 illustrated in FIG. 16 , the preferenceinformation 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18 , and each record of thebiological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 are acquiredprior to the drink determination process.

As illustrated in FIG. 26 , the computation unit 104 first refers toeach piece of product information (FIG. 16 ) acquired prior to the drinkdetermination process, and determines whether a drink corresponding tothe piece of product information is available for sale based on the typeinformation and the stock information included in the piece of productinformation. The computation unit 104 then stores a result of thedetermination in the work table 2500 illustrated in FIG. 27 (step S401).Thus, drinks determined to be not available for sale can be excludedfrom drinks recommended to the user.

Specifically, in step S401, the computation unit 104 determines that adrink corresponding to a piece of product information in which thequantity information included in the stock information indicates aquantity “0” is a drink that is sold out and thus is not available forsale. The computation unit 104 also determines that a drinkcorresponding to a piece of product information in which the temperatureindicated by the temperature information included in the stockinformation is out of the predetermined temperature range in which thedrink is providable to users is a drink that has an unsuitabletemperature and thus is not available for sale. In this specificexample, the predetermined temperature range for cold drinks is higherthan or equal to 4° C. and lower than or equal to 7° C. In this specificexample (FIG. 16 ), hot drinks are not handled. However, thepredetermined temperature range for hot drinks is higher than or equalto 53° C. and lower than or equal to 57° C.

In the example of FIG. 16 , in the record with the beacon ID “ID2”, thedrink corresponding to the piece of product information in which thequantity indicated by the quantity information included in the stockinformation is “0” and the product name indicated by the typeinformation is “beer 2” is determined to be a drink not available forsale. In the record with the beacon ID “ID2”, the drink corresponding tothe piece of product information in which the temperature indicated bythe temperature information included in the stock information is “13”and the product name indicated by the type information is “beer 3” isdetermined to be a drink not available for sale. The drinkscorresponding to the seven pieces of product information excluding thesetwo pieces of product information are determined to be drinks availablefor sale.

As illustrated in FIG. 27 , the computation unit 104 refers to eachpiece of product information (FIG. 16 ) acquired prior to the drinkdetermination process, and stores the product name (for example,coffee 1) indicated by the type information included in the productinformation in a field “product name” of the work table 2500 illustratedin FIG. 27 . The computation unit 104 then stores a result of thedetermination obtained in step S401 in a field “available for sale” ofthe work table 2500.

“OK” in the field “available for sale” in FIG. 27 indicates that thedrink with the product name (for example, coffee 2) indicated by thefield “product name” corresponding to the field “available for sale” isdetermined to be a drink available for sale. “NG (sold out)” in thefield “available for sale” in FIG. 27 indicates that the drink with theproduct name (for example, beer 2) indicated by the field “product name”corresponding to the field “available for sale” is determined to be soldout and thus is a drink not available for sale. “NG (unsuitabletemperature)” in the field “available for sale” in FIG. 27 indicatesthat the drink with the product name (for example, beer 3) indicated bythe field “product name” corresponding to the field “available for sale”is determined to have an unsuitable temperature and thus is a drink notavailable for sale.

Next, based on the product information (FIG. 16 ) on the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S401 and the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) and the biological information (FIG. 25 )that are acquired prior to the drink determination process, thecomputation unit 104 counts the number of times (past preference undersimilar physical condition (number of purchases) in FIG. 27 ) the userof the communication terminal 100 has purchased each of the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S401 in the past under aphysical condition similar to the current physical condition of the useramong the number of purchases of the drink (step S402).

Specifically, in step S402, the computation unit 104 refers to eachrecord of the preference information 2120 (FIG. 18 ) acquired prior tothe drink determination process, and acquires the product name (forexample, green tea (cold)) of each drink stored in the field “productname” and the number of purchases (for example, 167) indicated by thefield “number of purchases”. Then, in the work table 2500 illustrated inFIG. 27 , the computation unit 104 stores the acquired number ofpurchases (for example, 167) in a field “past preference (number ofpurchases)” in a record in which the acquired product name (for example,green tea (cold)) of the drink is stored in the field “product name”.

In the work table 2500 illustrated in FIG. 27 , the computation unit 104stores “0” in the field “past preference (number of purchases)” in arecord in which a product name that is not acquired from the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) is stored in the field “product name”. Thus,it is possible to grasp that the user does not like the drink with theproduct name that is not acquired from the preference information 2120(FIG. 18 ).

The computation unit 104 sets the biological information included in therecord corresponding to the most recent measurement date and time amongthe pieces of biological information (FIG. 25 ) acquired prior to thedrink determination process, as the biological information (hereinafter,referred to as current biological information) indicating the currentphysical condition of the user of the communication terminal 100. Thecomputation unit 104 then determines that biological informationsatisfying both of two conditions 1) and 2) below that use the currentbiological information among the pieces of biological informationmeasured in the past before the current biological information isbiological information (hereinafter, referred to as similar biologicalinformation) indicating a physical condition similar to the currentphysical condition of the user of the communication terminal 100. Thecomputation unit 104 then acquires measurement date and time information(hereinafter, referred to as similar biological condition date and timeinformation) associated with the similar biological information from thebiological information (FIG. 25 ).

Condition 1): The body temperature indicated by the field “bodytemperature” is within ±1° C. from the body temperature indicated by thefield “body temperature” of the current biological information.

Condition 2): The body water percentage indicated by the field “bodywater percentage” is within ±1% from the body water percentage indicatedby the field “body water percentage” of the current biologicalinformation.

For example, among the four pieces of biological information included inthe biological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 , thecomputation unit 104 sets, as the current biological information,biological information included in a record in which the most recentdate and time “20200414090000” is stored in the field “measurement dateand time”. In this case, three pieces of biological information, otherthan the current biological information, included in the biologicalinformation table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 satisfy both of the twoconditions 1) and 2) above that use the current biological information.Thus, the computation unit 104 determines that the three pieces ofbiological information are the similar biological information, andacquires, as the similar biological condition date and time information,three pieces of date and time information “20200414060000”,“20200414070000”, and “20200414080000” associated with the respectivethree pieces of similar biological information included in thebiological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 .

The conditions for determining the similar biological information arenot limited to the two conditions 1) and 2) described above, and may beone or more conditions that use one or more values indicated by one ormore fields among the fields “systolic blood pressure”, “diastolic bloodpressure”, “heart rate”, “body water percentage”, and “body temperature”included in the current biological information. For example, the similarbiological information and the similar biological condition date andtime information may be acquired using only the condition 1) related tothe body temperature.

Next, in step S402, the computation unit 104 refers to the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess, and counts the number of times each drink determined to beavailable for sale in step S401 has been purchased within apredetermined time from the date and time indicated by the similarbiological condition date and time information, as the number ofpurchases of the drink under the similar physical condition. In thisspecific example, the predetermined time is one hour.

Specifically, in the preference information 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18, the computation unit 104 refers to the field “purchase date and time”of a record in which the product name (for example, green tea (cold)) ofeach drink determined to be available for sale in step S401 is writtenin the field “product name”. The computation unit 104 then counts, asthe number of purchases of each drink under the similar physicalcondition, the number of dates and times in the field “purchase date andtime” of the drink in a period (for example, from 5:00:00 on Apr. 14,2020 to 7:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020) that is within the predetermined timefrom the date and time (for example, 6:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020) indicatedby each piece of similar biological condition date and time informationamong the dates and times (for example, 20200414223442, 20200414095340,. . . ) stored in the field “purchase date and time” to which areference is made.

In the work table 2500 illustrated in FIG. 27 , the computation unit 104then stores the counted number of purchases under the similar physicalcondition (for example, 89) in the field “past preference under similarphysical condition (number of purchases)” of a record in which theproduct name (for example, green tea (cold)) of the drink is stored inthe field “product name”.

Next, the computation unit 104 assigns higher priorities to the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S401 in descending order ofthe number of purchases of the drink under the similar physicalcondition counted in step S402 by assuming that the drink for which thenumber of purchases under the similar physical condition is larger ismore likely to match the preference of the user of the communicationterminal 100 in relation to the current physical condition of the userof the communication terminal 100 (step S403).

For example, suppose that as a result of steps S401 and S402, theproduct name indicated by the type information included in each piece ofproduct information illustrated in FIG. 16 , the determination resultobtained in step S401, the number of purchases of each drink determinedto be available for sale in step S401, and the number of purchases ofeach drink under the similar physical condition counted in step S402 arestored in the fields “product name”, “available for sale”, “pastpreference (number of purchases)”, and “past preference under similarphysical condition (number of purchases)” of each record of the worktable 2500, respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 27 .

In this case, in step S403, the computation unit 104 assigns the highestpriority “1” to the drink of which the product name is “green tea(cold)” and of which the number of purchases under the similar physicalcondition stored in the field “past preference under similar physicalcondition (number of purchases)” is “89”, i.e., the largest. Thecomputation unit 104 then stores the assigned priority “1” in the field“priority” of the record corresponding to the drink in the work table2500.

Next, the computation unit 104 assigns the priority “2”, which is thenext highest priority of the priority “1”, to the drink of which theproduct name is “sports drink (cold)” and of which the number ofpurchases under the similar physical condition stored in the field “pastpreference under similar physical condition (number of purchases)” is“14”, i.e., the next largest. The computation unit 104 then stores theassigned priority “2” in the field “priority” of the recordcorresponding to the drink in the work table 2500.

Likewise, the priority “3” is assigned to the drink with the productname “carbonated drink (cold)”, and the priority “4” is assigned to thedrink with the product name “coffee 2”. The computation unit 104 assignsthe next priority (in this specific example, “5”) to the drinks whichare determined to be available for sale (for example, the drinks withthe product names “coffee 1”, “coffee 3”, and “beer 1”) and of which thenumber of purchases under the similar physical condition counted in stepS402 is “0”.

The computation unit 104 does not assign priorities to the drinksdetermined to be not available for sale in step S401 (for example, thedrinks with the product names “beer 2” and “beer 3”). Thus, thecomputation unit 104 stores “−” indicating that the drink is notrecommended to the user in the field “priority” of each recordcorresponding to the drink not available for sale in the work table2500.

In the third embodiment, in step S207 b (FIG. 24B), the computation unit104 performs the drink determination process of steps S401 to S403. Thecomputation unit 104 then generates a message that recommends a drinkcorresponding to a record in which “1” is stored in the field “priority”of the work table 2500 illustrated in FIG. 27 , as the message 820included in the push notification screens 800B and 800C illustrated inFIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively. The computation unit 104 also generates aproduct image representing the drink corresponding to the record inwhich “1” is stored in the field “priority” of the work table 2500illustrated in FIG. 27 , as the icon image 840 of the push notificationscreens 800B and 800C illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively.

In step S210 b (FIG. 24B), with reference to the work table 2500illustrated in FIG. 27 , which is obtained by performing steps S401 toS403 of step S207 b (FIG. 24B), the computation unit 104 generates theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user, in which the tile objects 901(such as FIG. 12 ) representing the drinks corresponding to therespective records in which the priorities are stored in the field“priority” are arranged according to the stored priorities.

Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.In the third embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100 acquiresthe biological information of the user of the communication terminal 100from the first server 200 and the communication terminal 100. The fourthembodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the businessentity X application in the communication terminal 100 acquires thebiological information of the user of the communication terminal 100from the sensor application in the communication terminal 100.

In the fourth embodiment, the memory 102 of the communication terminal100 has a table having the same configuration as the biologicalinformation table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 . For convenience ofexplanation, the table is hereinafter referred to as the biologicalinformation table 2300. The sensor application collects the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 periodicallymeasured by the biological sensor 600, and stores the collectedbiological information in the biological information table 2300 (FIG. 25) in time series in association with the user ID of the user and themeasurement date and time information indicating the measurement dateand time of the biological information.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the fourth embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the third embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 28Aand 28B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in thefourth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 28A, in the fourth embodiment, step S204 (FIG.7A) is performed as in the first embodiment, instead of step S204 b(FIG. 24A) in the third embodiment. In response to this, step S221 (FIG.7A) is performed in the first server 200 as in the first embodiment. Asa result, if it is determined that the user of the communicationterminal 100 is a user with permission ([with permission of user]), thepreference information of the user with permission is returned. If it isdetermined that the user is not a user with permission ([otherwise]),information indicating that the personal information is inaccessible isreturned. The returned information is received and output to thecomputation unit 104 by the communication unit 101 of the communicationterminal 100.

The computation unit 104 then executes the sensor application to acquirerecords including the user ID of the user of the communication terminal100 in the biological information table 2300 (FIG. 25 ) in the memory102, as the biological information of the user (step S206 b).Thereafter, the processing of step S205 and subsequent steps isperformed as in the third embodiment.

In the fourth embodiment, in step S207 b, the computation unit 104performs the drink determination process (steps S401 to S403 (FIG. 26 ))as in the third embodiment by using each combination of theidentification information of the vending machines 700 and the typeinformation and the stock information included in the productinformation which are acquired in step S202 each time a beacon signal isreceived, the preference information returned and acquired via thecommunication unit 101 in step S221, the preference information acquiredin step S205, and the biological information acquired in step S206 b. Instep S210 b, the computation unit 104 generates the individual purchasemenu 900 with reference to the work table 2500 (FIG. 27 ) obtained byperforming the drink determination process (steps S401 to S403 (FIG. 26)) in step S207 b.

Fifth Embodiment

A fifth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. Inthe third embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100 acquiresthe preference information and the biological information of the user ofthe communication terminal 100 from the first server 200 and thecommunication terminal 100, generates the push notification screen 800and the individual purchase menu 900 for the user, and notifies thefirst server 200 of the purchase information of the drink by the user ofthe communication terminal 100.

The fifth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that thebusiness entity management server 300 that provides the business entityX application acquires the preference information and the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 from the firstserver 200, generates the push notification screen 800 and theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user, and notifies the first server200 of the purchase information of the drink by the user of thecommunication terminal 100.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the fifth embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the third embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 29Aand 29B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in thefifth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 29A, the proximity communication unit 707 of eachof the vending machines 700 included in the vending machine managementsystem periodically transmits a beacon signal (step S271) as in thethird embodiment.

The business entity X application is executed in the communicationterminal 100, so that step S201 is performed as in the third embodiment.Thus, information indicating the distance to the vending machine 700that is the transmission source of the beacon signal and thetransmission direction of the beacon signal as well as the beacon ID arestored in the memory 102. Step S202 is performed, so that theidentification information for identifying the vending machine 700 andthe product information including the type information and the stockinformation are stored in the memory 102.

After step S202, if the preference information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 is stored in the memory 102 ([preferenceinformation stored]), the computation unit 104 acquires the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 stored in thememory 102 (step S205 a).

The computation unit 104 then controls the communication unit 101 tosend, to the business entity management server 300, pieces ofinformation stored in the memory 102, i.e., the identificationinformation for identifying the communication terminal 100 including theuser ID, the preference information acquired in step S205 a, and theidentification information and product information of each of thevending machines 700 which are the transmission sources of therespective beacon signals acquired in step S202 (step S203 a).

In response to this, in the business entity management server 300, basedon the identification information of the vending machine 700 and theproduct information acquired via the communication unit 301, thecomputation unit 302 updates the product information of the vendingmachine 700 corresponding to the identification information and storedin the memory 303.

In this way, each time the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 receives a beacon signal transmitted from theproximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700, theprocessing from step S201 to step S203 a is repeated in response to thereceipt.

In response to detecting that a plurality of beacon signals transmittedfrom the plurality of vending machines 700 are received by the proximitycommunication unit 107, the computation unit 104 may perform merelysteps S201 and S202 at receipt of each of the beacon signals by theproximity communication unit 107 and may perform steps S205 a and S203 ajust once. Thus, the computation unit 104 may collectively send theidentification information for identifying the communication terminal100 including the user ID, the preference information acquired in stepS205 a, and the pieces of information acquired in steps S201 and S202 tothe business entity management server 300 in single step S203 a.

Suppose that the business entity X that provides the business entity Xapplication has an affiliation with the managing business entity of thefirst server 200 and that the business entity X is permitted to acquirepersonal information of each user stored in the first server 200. Inthis case ([with affiliation between business entities]), thecomputation unit 302 of the business entity management server 300controls the communication unit 301 to send, to the first server 200, asignal requesting sending of the preference information and thebiological information of the user identified by the user ID included inthe identification information, together with the identificationinformation for identifying the communication terminal 100 acquired fromthe communication terminal 100 (step S231 c).

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 and the signal requesting sending of thepreference information and the biological information of the user, whichare sent in step S231 c, the computation unit 202 performs step S221 c(step S221 c).

Specifically, in step S221 c, if the computation unit 202 determinesthat the user indicated by the user ID included in the identificationinformation received by the communication unit 201 is a user withpermission ([with permission of user]), the computation unit 202controls the communication unit 201 to return the preference informationand the biological information of the user with permission acquired fromthe memory 203 to the business entity management server 300. On theother hand, if the computation unit 202 determines that the user is nota user with permission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 controlsthe communication unit 201 to return information indicating that thepersonal information is inaccessible to the business entity managementserver 300. The returned information is received and output to thecomputation unit 302 by the communication unit 301 of the businessentity management server 300.

If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 may control thecommunication unit 201 to send a message for checking whether to permitthe business entity management server 300 to read the personalinformation, to the communication terminal 100 indicated by theidentification information acquired from the business entity managementserver 300. Suppose that in response to this, the computation unit 202acquires a reply indicating permission from the communication terminal100 via the communication unit 201. In this case, the computation unit202 may acquire, from the memory 203, the preference information and thebiological information of the user indicated by the user ID included inthe received identification information in step S221 c. The computationunit 202 then may cause the communication unit 201 to return theacquired information to the business entity management server 300.

The computation unit 302 then generates the push notification screen800, based on each combination of the identification information of thevending machines 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, and thebiological information that are acquired in the preceding steps (stepS234 b). Each combination of the identification information of thevending machines 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information is a combination sent and acquiredvia the communication unit 301 in step S203 a. The preferenceinformation is the preference information sent and acquired via thecommunication unit 301 in step S203 a and the preference informationreturned and acquired via the communication unit 301 in step S221 c. Thebiological information is the biological information returned andacquired via the communication unit 301 in step S221 c.

In the fifth embodiment, in step S234 b, the computation unit 302performs the drink determination process (steps S401 to S403 (FIG. 26 ))by using each combination of the identification information of thevending machine 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, and thebiological information. Thus, the computation unit 302 generates amessage that recommends a drink corresponding to a record in which “1”is stored in the field “priority” of the work table 2500 (FIG. 27 ), asthe message 820 included in the push notification screens 800B and 800Cillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively. The computation unit 302also generates a product image representing the drink corresponding tothe record in which “1” is stored in the field “priority” of the worktable 2500 (FIG. 27 ), as the icon image 840 of the push notificationscreens 800B and 800C illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively.

The computation unit 302 then controls the communication unit 301 tosend information representing the push notification screen 800 generatedin step S234 b to the communication terminal 100 (step S235).

On the other hand, in the communication terminal 100, in response toacquiring, via the communication unit 101, the information representingthe push notification screen 800 sent in step S235, the computation unit104 displays the push notification screen 800 represented by theacquired information on the display 105 of the communication terminal100 (step S208 a).

If receipt of a beacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107 isnot detected for a predetermined time or more since the pushnotification screen 800 is displayed in step S208 a, ([without receiptof beacon signal for predetermined time or more]), the computation unit104 performs processing of hiding the displayed push notification screen800 to hide the push notification screen 800. The computation unit 104then ends the process (step S209). After ending the process, thecomputation unit 104 returns to a state of waiting for receipt of abeacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107.

On the other hand, if the user performs an operation (for example, atouch operation) of selecting the push notification screen 800 by usingthe operation unit 106 ([push notification screen selected]), thecomputation unit 104 controls the communication unit 101 to send asignal requesting generation of the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100 to the business entity managementserver 300 (step S210 a). The signal requesting generation of theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user is received and output to thecomputation unit 302 by the communication unit 301 of the businessentity management server 300.

In response to acquiring, via the communication unit 301, the signalrequesting generation of the individual purchase menu for the user ofthe communication terminal 100 sent in step S210 a, the computation unit302 generates the individual purchase menu 900 for the user of thecommunication terminal 100, based on the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, and the biological information that are used in step S234 b(step S236 b).

In step S236 b, the computation unit 302 refers to the work table 2500(FIG. 27 ) obtained by performing the drink determination process (stepsS401 to S403 (FIG. 26 )) in step S234 b. The computation unit 302 thengenerates the individual purchase menu 900 in which the tile objects 901(such as FIG. 12 ) representing the drinks corresponding to therespective records in which the priorities are stored in the field“priority” are arranged according to the stored priorities.

The computation unit 302 then controls the communication unit 301 tosend information representing the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100, generated in step S236 b, to thecommunication terminal 100 (step S237).

In the communication terminal 100, in response to acquiring, via thecommunication unit 101, the information representing the individualpurchase menu 900 for the user of the communication terminal 100 sent instep S237, the computation unit 104 displays the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user of the communication terminal 100 represented bythe acquired information on the display 105 of the communicationterminal 100 (step S211 a).

After step S211 a, as in the third embodiment, steps S212, S213, andS272 are performed, so that the drink purchased by the user is providedto the user.

After step S213, the computation unit 104 of the communication terminal100 controls the communication unit 101 to send the purchase informationof the drink to the business entity management server 300 (step S214 a).Thus, in the business entity management server 300, the purchaseinformation of the drink sent in step S214 a is received and output tothe computation unit 302 by the communication unit 301. The purchaseinformation of the drink includes the user ID of the user of thecommunication terminal 100, the date and time information indicating thepurchase date and time of the drink by the user, the identificationinformation for identifying the vending machine 700 from which the userpurchased the drink, and the type information indicating the type of thedrink purchased by the user.

In response to acquiring the purchase information of the drink from thecommunication unit 301, the computation unit 302 of the business entitymanagement server 300 causes the communication unit 301 to send a signalrequesting update of the purchase history information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 to the first server 200 together with theacquired purchase information of the drink (step S238). In response tothis, step S222 is performed in the first server 200 as in the firstembodiment, and if the user of the communication terminal 100 is a userwith permission, the purchase history information of the user withpermission stored in the memory 203 is updated.

Sixth Embodiment

A sixth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. Inthe fifth embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity management server 300 acquires the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 from the firstserver 200. The sixth embodiment is different from the fifth embodimentin that the business entity management server 300 requests the sensorapplication in the communication terminal 100 to send the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 and acquiresthe biological information from the sensor application.

In the sixth embodiment, the memory 102 of the communication terminal100 has a table having the same configuration as the biologicalinformation table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 as in the fourthembodiment. For convenience of explanation, the table is hereinafterreferred to as the biological information table 2300. As in the fourthembodiment, the sensor application collects the biological informationof the user of the communication terminal 100 periodically measured bythe biological sensor 600, and stores the collected biologicalinformation in the biological information table 2300 (FIG. 25 ) in timeseries in association with the user ID of the user and the measurementdate and time information indicating the measurement date and time ofthe biological information.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the sixth embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the fifth embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 30Aand 30B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in thesixth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 30A, in the sixth embodiment, step S231 d isperformed instead of step S231 c (FIG. 29A) in the fifth embodiment.

Specifically, suppose that the business entity X that provides thebusiness entity X application has an affiliation with the managingbusiness entity of the first server 200 and that the business entity Xis permitted to acquire personal information of each user stored in thefirst server 200. In this case ([with affiliation between businessentities]), the computation unit 302 of the business entity managementserver 300 controls the communication unit 301 to send, to the firstserver 200, a signal requesting sending of preference information of theuser identified by the user ID included in the identificationinformation, together with identification information for identifyingthe communication terminal 100 acquired from the communication terminal100 (step S231 d).

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 and the signal requesting sending of thepreference information of the user, which are sent in step S231 d, thecomputation unit 202 performs step S221 d that is substantially the sameas step S221 b (FIG. 24A), instead of step S221 c (FIG. 29A) in thefifth embodiment (step S221 d).

Specifically, in step S221 d, if the computation unit 202 determinesthat the user indicated by the user ID included in the identificationinformation received by the communication unit 201 is a user withpermission ([with permission of user]), the computation unit 202controls the communication unit 201 to return the preference informationof the user with permission acquired from the memory 203 to the businessentity management server 300. On the other hand, if the computation unit202 determines that the user is not a user with permission([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 controls the communication unit201 to return information indicating that the personal information isinaccessible to the business entity management server 300. The returnedinformation is received and output to the computation unit 302 by thecommunication unit 301 of the business entity management server 300.

If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 may control thecommunication unit 201 to send a message for checking whether to permitthe business entity management server 300 to read the personalinformation, to the communication terminal 100 indicated by theidentification information acquired from the business entity managementserver 300. Suppose that in response to this, the computation unit 202acquires a reply indicating permission from the communication terminal100 via the communication unit 201. In this case, the computation unit202 may acquire, from the memory 203, the preference informationincluded in the personal information of the user indicated by the userID included in the received identification information in step S221 d.The computation unit 202 then may cause the communication unit 201 toreturn the acquired information to the business entity management server300.

Next, the computation unit 302 requests the communication terminal 100indicated by the terminal ID included in the identification informationfor identifying the communication terminal 100 acquired in step S203 ato provide the biological information of the user of the communicationterminal 100, and acquires the biological information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 returned in response the request (step S239).

Specifically, in step S239, the computation unit 302 controls thecommunication unit 301 to send a signal requesting the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 to thecommunication terminal 100 indicated by the terminal ID included in theidentification information for identifying the communication terminal100 acquired in step S203 a. In the communication terminal 100, inresponse to the communication unit 101 receiving the signal requestingthe biological information of the user of the communication terminal100, the communication unit 101 notifies the computation unit 104 of thereceipt. In response to receiving the notification, the computation unit104 executes the sensor application to acquire records including theuser ID of the user of the communication terminal 100 in the biologicalinformation table 2300 (FIG. 25 ) in the memory 102, as the biologicalinformation of the user. The computation unit 104 then causes thecommunication unit 101 to return the acquired biological information. Inresponse to this, the computation unit 302 of the business entitymanagement server 300 acquires, via the communication unit 301, thebiological information of the user of the communication terminal 100returned from the communication terminal 100. Thereafter, the processingof step S234 b and subsequent steps is performed as in the fifthembodiment.

In the sixth embodiment, in step S234 b, the computation unit 302performs the drink determination process (steps S401 to S403 (FIG. 26 ))by using each combination of the identification information of thevending machine 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, which are sent and acquired via thecommunication unit 301 in step S203 a, the preference information sentand acquired via the communication unit 301 in step S203 a, thepreference information returned and acquired via the communication unit301 in step S221 d, and the biological information acquired in stepS239. In step S236 b, the computation unit 104 generates the individualpurchase menu 900 with reference to the work table 2500 (FIG. 27 )obtained by performing the drink determination process (steps S401 toS403 (FIG. 26 )) in step S234 b.

Seventh Embodiment

A seventh embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100generates the push notification screen 800 and the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user, based on each combination of the identificationinformation of each of the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources of the respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107 and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100, and theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100.

In the third embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100generates the push notification screen 800 and the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user, based on each combination of the identificationinformation of each of the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources of the respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107 and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100, and thebiological information of the user.

The seventh embodiment is different from the first embodiment and thethird embodiment in that the business entity X application in thecommunication terminal 100 generates the push notification screen 800and the individual purchase menu 900 for the user, based on eachcombination of the identification information of each of the vendingmachines 700 that are the transmission sources of respective beaconsignals received by the proximity communication unit 107 and the typeinformation and the stock information included in the productinformation, the preference information of the user of the communicationterminal 100, the biological information of the user, and the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100.

Thus, in the seventh embodiment, each combination of the identificationinformation of each of the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources of the respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107 and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100, thebiological information of the user, and the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 (or the installedlocation of the vending machine 700), which are acquired prior to thedrink determination process, are used in the drink determination processperformed when the push notification screen 800 is generated. In thedrink determination process, at least one drink that matches apreference of the user indicated by the preference information isdetermined, in relation to the weather, indicated by the weatherinformation, at the current location of the communication terminal 100(or installed location of the vending machine 700) and to the currentphysical condition, indicated by the biological information, of the userof the communication terminal 100 from among a plurality of drinksstored in the vending machines 700 that are the transmission sources ofthe respective beacon signals received by the communication terminal100.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the seventh embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the first embodiment and the third embodiment is omitted asappropriate. FIGS. 31A and 31B are a sequence diagram illustrating anexample of the overview of the process performed in the vending machinemanagement system in the seventh embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 31A, the proximity communication unit 707 of eachof the vending machines 700 included in the vending machine managementsystem periodically transmits a beacon signal (step S271) as in thefirst embodiment and the third embodiment. The business entity Xapplication is executed in the communication terminal 100, so that eachtime the proximity communication unit 107 of the communication terminal100 receives a beacon signal transmitted from the proximitycommunication unit 707 of each of the vending machines 700, theprocessing from step S201 to step S203 is repeated in response to thereceipt as in the first embodiment and the third embodiment.

In response to detecting that a plurality of beacon signals transmittedfrom the plurality of vending machines 700 are received by the proximitycommunication unit 107, the computation unit 104 may perform merelysteps S201 and S202 at receipt of each of the beacon signals by theproximity communication unit 107 and may perform step S203 just once asin the first embodiment and the third embodiment.

Next, step S204 b is performed in the communication terminal 100, and inresponse to which, step S221 b is performed in the first server 200 asin the third embodiment. Thus, if the business entity X is permitted toacquire the personal information of each user stored in the first server200 ([with affiliation between business entities]) and the user of thecommunication terminal 100 is a user with permission ([with permissionof user]), the preference information and the biological information ofthe user with permission are returned from the first server 200. On theother hand, if the user of the communication terminal 100 is not a userwith permission ([otherwise]), information indicating that the personalinformation is inaccessible is returned from the first server 200. Thereturned information is received and output to the computation unit 104by the communication unit 101 of the communication terminal 100.

If the user is not a user with permission ([otherwise]), a message forchecking whether to permit reading of the personal information stored inthe memory 203 may be returned from the first server 200 to thecommunication terminal 100 as in the first embodiment and the thirdembodiment. If permission is returned to the first server 200 inresponse to this, the preference information and the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 may bereturned from the first server 200 to the communication terminal 100.

Next, step S205 b is performed as in the third embodiment. Specifically,if the preference information and/or the biological information of theuser of the communication terminal 100 are/is stored in the memory 102of the communication terminal 100 ([preference information/biologicalinformation stored]), the preference information and/or the biologicalinformation of the user are/is acquired within a range not overlappingthe preference information and the biological information returned instep S221 b. There is a possibility that the latest biologicalinformation is sent from the biological sensor 600 to the communicationterminal 100 and is accumulated and managed by the sensor applicationbut is not uploaded to the first server 200 yet. Since the drinkdetermination process (described below) is performed also using thelatest biological information, the latest biological information storedin the memory 102 of the communication terminal 100 in this manner isalso acquired in step S205 b.

After step S205 b, step S206 is performed as in the first embodiment.Thereafter, step S206 is periodically repeated. Thus, the communicationterminal 100 acquires, from the second server 500, as the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100,the weather information corresponding to the current location of thecommunication terminal 100 or the installed location of the vendingmachine 700 indicated by the identification information acquired in stepS202. The acquired weather information is stored in the memory 102 intime series, as a history of the weather information, in associationwith the date and time information indicating the acquisition date andtime of the weather information. However, the weather information is notlimited to this, and weather information of a region including thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 in a pastpredetermined period may be acquired in step S206 as in the firstembodiment. As described in the first embodiment, the history of theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 stored in the memory 102 of the communication terminal 100owned by the user with permission may be managed as the personalinformation of the user with permission in the first server 200. In thiscase, in step S204 b, the history of the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 owned by the user maybe requested from the communication terminal 100 together with therequest for the preference information and the biological informationassociated with the user ID, so that the history of the weatherinformation may be acquired together with the preference information andthe biological information from the first server 200 in step S221 b.

Next, the computation unit 104 generates the push notification screen800, based on each combination of the identification information of thevending machines 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, thebiological information, and the weather information that are acquired inthe preceding steps (step S207 c). Each combination of theidentification information of the vending machines 700 and the typeinformation and the stock information included in the productinformation is the combination acquired in step S202 each time a beaconsignal is received. The preference information is the preferenceinformation returned and acquired via the communication unit 101 in stepS221 b and the preference information acquired in step S205 b. Thebiological information is the biological information returned andacquired via the communication unit 101 in step S221 b and thebiological information acquired in step S205 b. The weather informationis the weather information acquired in step S206 and the history of theweather information stored in the memory 102 or the first server 200.

In the seventh embodiment, in step S207 c, the computation unit 104performs a drink determination process (described below) by using eachcombination of the identification information of the vending machine 700and the type information and the stock information included in theproduct information, the preference information, the biologicalinformation, and the weather information.

The computation unit 104 then displays the push notification screen 800generated in step S207 c on the display 105 of the communicationterminal 100 as in the first embodiment (step S208). The computationunit 104 may display the push notification screen 800 on the display 105and may drive a vibration generator (not illustrated) built in thecommunication terminal 100 to allow the user of the communicationterminal 100 to easily notice the push notification. The computationunit 104 may display the push notification screen 800 on the display 105and reproduce a sound reporting receipt of the push notification from aspeaker (not illustrated) built in the communication terminal 100 toallow the user of the communication terminal 100 to easily notice thepush notification.

If receipt of a beacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107 isnot detected for a predetermined time or more since the pushnotification screen is displayed in step S208 ([without receipt ofbeacon signal for predetermined time or more]), the computation unit 104performs processing of hiding the displayed push notification screen tohide the push notification screen. The computation unit 104 then endsthe process (step S209). After ending the process, the computation unit104 returns to a state of waiting for receipt of a beacon signal by theproximity communication unit 107.

On the other hand, if the user performs an operation (for example, atouch operation) of selecting the push notification screen 800 by usingthe operation unit 106 ([push notification screen selected]), thecomputation unit 104 generates the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100, based on the type informationand the stock information included in the product information, thepreference information, the biological information, and the weatherinformation that are used in step S207 c (step S210 c).

In the seventh embodiment, in step S210 c, the computation unit 104generates the individual purchase menu 900 with reference to a worktable (described later) obtained by performing the drink determinationprocess (described later) in step S207 c by using the type informationand the stock information included in the product information, thepreference information, the biological information, and the weatherinformation.

The computation unit 104 then displays the individual purchase menu 900for the user of the communication terminal 100 generated in step S210 con the display 105 of the communication terminal 100 (step S211). Afterstep S211, steps S212 to S214, S272, and S222 are performed as in thefirst embodiment and the third embodiment. Thus, the drink purchased bythe user is provided to the user. If the user of the communicationterminal 100 is a user with permission, the first server 200 updates thepurchase history information of the user with permission stored in thememory 203.

Process of Determining at Least One Drink that Matches Preference ofUser

The drink determination process of determining at least one drink thatmatches a preference of the user of the communication terminal 100, isrecommended in the push notification screen 800, and is displayed in theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user in the seventh embodiment willbe described next by using a specific example. The drink determinationprocess is performed when the push notification screen 800 is generated,and a result of the drink determination process is used when theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user is generated.

In the seventh embodiment, each combination of the identificationinformation of each of the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources of the respective beacon signals received by theproximity communication unit 107 and the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, the biological information, and the weather information,which are acquired prior to the drink determination process, are used inthe drink determination process. In the drink determination process, atleast one drink that matches the preference of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 indicated by the preference information isdetermined, in relation to the weather, indicated by the weatherinformation, at the current location of the communication terminal 100and to the current physical condition, indicated by the biologicalinformation, of the user of the communication terminal 100 from among aplurality of drinks stored in the vending machines 700 that are thetransmission sources.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the drinkdetermination process. FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating an example of awork table 2600 used in the drink determination process illustrated inFIG. 32 .

Suppose that in this specific example, the product information includedin the information 2100 illustrated in FIG. 16 , the preferenceinformation 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18 , the weather information 2200illustrated in FIG. 19 , the history 2210 of the weather informationillustrated in FIG. 20 , and the biological information included in thebiological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 are acquiredprior to the drink determination process.

As illustrated in FIG. 32 , the computation unit 104 first refers toeach piece of product information (FIG. 16 ) acquired prior to the drinkdetermination process, and determines whether a drink corresponding tothe piece of product information is available for sale based on the typeinformation and the stock information included in the piece of productinformation. The computation unit 104 then stores a result of thedetermination in the work table 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 (step S501).Thus, drinks determined to be not available for sale can be excludedfrom drinks recommended to the user.

Specifically, in step S501, the computation unit 104 determines that adrink corresponding to a piece of product information in which thequantity information included in the stock information indicates aquantity “0” is a drink that is sold out and thus is not available forsale. The computation unit 104 also determines that a drinkcorresponding to a piece of product information in which the temperatureindicated by the temperature information included in the stockinformation is out of the predetermined temperature range in which thedrink is providable to users is a drink that has an unsuitabletemperature and thus is not available for sale. In this specificexample, the predetermined temperature range for cold drinks is higherthan or equal to 4° C. and lower than or equal to 7° C. In this specificexample (FIG. 16 ), hot drinks are not handled. However, thepredetermined temperature range for hot drinks is higher than or equalto 53° C. and lower than or equal to 57° C.

In the example of FIG. 16 , in the record with the beacon ID “ID2”, thedrink corresponding to the piece of product information in which thequantity indicated by the quantity information included in the stockinformation is “0” and the product name indicated by the typeinformation is “beer 2” is determined to be a drink not available forsale. In the record with the beacon ID “ID2”, the drink corresponding tothe piece of product information in which the temperature indicated bythe temperature information included in the stock information is “13”and the product name indicated by the type information is “beer 3” isdetermined to be a drink not available for sale. The drinkscorresponding to the seven pieces of product information excluding thesetwo pieces of product information are determined to be drinks availablefor sale.

The computation unit 104 refers to each piece of product information(FIG. 16 ) acquired prior to the drink determination process, and storesthe product name (for example, coffee 1) indicated by the typeinformation included in the piece of product information in a field“product name” of the work table 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 . Thecomputation unit 104 then stores a result of the determination obtainedin step S501 in a field “available for sale” of the work table 2600.

“OK” in the field “available for sale” in FIG. 33 indicates that thedrink with the product name (for example, coffee 2) indicated by thefield “product name” corresponding to the field “available for sale” isdetermined to be a drink available for sale. “NG (sold out)” in thefield “available for sale” in FIG. 33 indicates that the drink with theproduct name (for example, beer 2) indicated by the field “product name”corresponding to the field “available for sale” is determined to be soldout and thus is a drink not available for sale. “NG (unsuitabletemperature)” in the field “available for sale” in FIG. 33 indicatesthat the drink with the product name (for example, beer 3) indicated bythe field “product name” corresponding to the field “available for sale”is determined to have an unsuitable temperature and thus is a drink notavailable for sale.

Next, based on the product information (FIG. 16 ) on the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S501 and the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ), the weather information 2200 (FIG. 19 ),and the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information that havebeen acquired prior to the drink determination process, the computationunit 104 counts the number of times (hereinafter, referred to as thenumber of purchases under the similar weather) the user of thecommunication terminal 100 has purchased each of the drinks determinedto be available for sale in step S501 in the past under a weathercondition similar to the current weather condition among the number ofpurchases of the drink (step S502).

Specifically, in step S502, the computation unit 104 refers to eachrecord of the preference information 2120 (FIG. 18 ) acquired prior tothe drink determination process, and acquires the product name (forexample, green tea (cold)) of each drink stored in the field “productname” and the number of purchases (for example, 167) indicated by thefield “number of purchases”. Then, in the work table 2600 illustrated inFIG. 33 , the computation unit 104 stores the acquired number ofpurchases (for example, 167) in a field “past preference (number ofpurchases)” in a record in which the acquired product name (for example,green tea (cold)) of the drink is stored in the field “product name”.

In the work table 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 , the computation unit 104stores “0” in the field “past preference (number of purchases)” in arecord in which a product name that is not acquired from the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) is stored in the field “product name”. Thus,it is possible to grasp that the user does not like the drink with theproduct name that is not acquired from the preference information 2120(FIG. 18 ).

The computation unit 104 then determines that weather informationsatisfying all of three conditions 1) to 3) below that use the weatherinformation 2200 (FIG. 19 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess among the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather informationacquired prior to the drink determination process is weather information(hereinafter, referred to as similar weather information) indicating aweather condition similar to the current weather condition. Thecomputation unit 104 then acquires date and time information(hereinafter, referred to as similar weather date and time information)associated with the similar weather information from the history 2210(FIG. 20 ) of the weather information.

Condition 1): The temperature indicated by the field “temperature(Celsius)” is within ±5° C. from the temperature indicated by the field“temperature (Celsius)” of the weather information 2200.

Condition 2): The humidity indicated by the field “humidity” is within±20% from the humidity indicated by the field “humidity” of the weatherinformation 2200.

Condition 3): The heat index indicated by the field “heat index (WBGT)”is within ±5° C. from the heat index indicated by the field “heat index(WBGT)” of the weather information 2200.

For example, four pieces of weather information included in the history2210 of the weather information illustrated in FIG. 20 satisfy all ofthe above-described three conditions 1) to 3) that use the weatherinformation 2200 illustrated in FIG. 19 . Thus, the computation unit 104determines that the four pieces of weather information are the similarweather information, and acquires four pieces of date and timeinformation “20200414060000”, “20200414070000”, “20200414080000”, and“20200414090000” associated with the respective four pieces of weatherinformation included in the history 2210 of the weather informationillustrated in FIG. 20 , as the similar weather date and timeinformation.

The conditions for determining the similar weather information are notlimited to the three conditions 1) to 3) described above, and may be oneor more conditions that use one or more values indicated by one or morefields among the fields “temperature (Celsius)”, “humidity”, “heat index(WBGT)”, “solar radiation”, or “weather type” included in the weatherinformation 2200 (FIG. 19 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess. For example, the similar weather information and the similarweather date and time information may be acquired by using the condition3) of the heat index (WBGT).

In step S502, the computation unit 104 then refers to the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess, and counts the number of times each drink determined to beavailable for sale in step S501 has been purchased within apredetermined time from the date and time indicated by the similarweather date and time information, as the number of purchases of thedrink under the similar weather. In this specific example, thispredetermined time is one hour.

Specifically, in the preference information 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18, the computation unit 104 refers to the field “purchase date and time”of a record in which the product name (for example, green tea (cold)) ofeach drink determined to be available for sale in step S501 is writtenin the field “product name”. The computation unit 104 then counts, asthe number of purchases of each drink under the similar weather, thenumber of dates and times in the field “purchase date and time” of thedrink included in a period between dates and times (for example, from5:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020 to 7:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020) that are withinthe predetermined time from the date and time (for example, 6:00:00 onApr. 14, 2020) indicated by each similar weather date and timeinformation among the dates and times (for example, 20200414223442,20200414095340, . . . ) stored in the field “purchase date and time” towhich a reference is made.

In the work table 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 , the computation unit 104then stores the counted number of purchases under the similar weather(for example, 103) in the field “past preference under similar weathercondition (number of purchases)” of a record in which the product name(for example, green tea (cold)) of the drink is stored in the field“product name”.

Next, based on the product information (FIG. 16 ) on the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S501 and the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) and the biological information (FIG. 25 )that are acquired prior to the drink determination process, thecomputation unit 104 counts the number of times (past preference undersimilar physical condition (number of purchases) in FIG. 33 ) the userof the communication terminal 100 has purchased each of the drinks inthe past under a physical condition similar to the current physicalcondition among the number of purchases of the drink under the similarweather counted in step S502 (step S503).

Specifically, in step S503, the computation unit 104 sets the biologicalinformation included in the record corresponding to the most recentmeasurement date and time among the pieces of biological information(FIG. 25 ) acquired prior to the drink determination process, as thebiological information (hereinafter, referred to as current biologicalinformation) indicating the current physical condition of the user ofthe communication terminal 100. The computation unit 104 then determinesthat biological information satisfying both of two conditions 1) and 2)below that use the current biological information among the pieces ofbiological information measured in the past before the currentbiological information is biological information (hereinafter, referredto as similar biological information) indicating a physical conditionsimilar to the current physical condition of the user of thecommunication terminal 100. The computation unit 104 then acquiresmeasurement date and time information (hereinafter, referred to assimilar biological condition date and time information) associated withthe similar biological information from the biological information (FIG.25 ).

Condition 1): The body temperature indicated by the field “bodytemperature” is within ±1° C. from the body temperature indicated by thefield “body temperature” of the current biological information.

Condition 2): The body water percentage indicated by the field “bodywater percentage” is within ±1% from the body water percentage indicatedby the field “body water percentage” of the current biologicalinformation.

For example, among the four pieces of biological information included inthe biological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 , thecomputation unit 104 sets, as the current biological information,biological information included in a record in which the most recentdate and time “20200414090000” is stored in the field “measurement dateand time”. In this case, three pieces of biological information, otherthan the current biological information, included in the biologicalinformation table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 satisfy both of the twoconditions 1) and 2) above that use the current biological information.Thus, the computation unit 104 determines that the three pieces ofbiological information are the similar biological information, andacquires, as the similar biological condition date and time information,three pieces of date and time information “20200414060000”,“20200414070000”, and “20200414080000” associated with the respectivethree pieces of similar biological information included in thebiological information table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 .

The conditions for determining the similar biological information arenot limited to the two conditions 1) and 2) described above, and may beone or more conditions that use one or more values indicated by one ormore fields among the fields “systolic blood pressure”, “diastolic bloodpressure”, “heart rate”, “body water percentage”, and “body temperature”included in the current biological information. For example, the similarbiological information and the similar biological condition date andtime information may be acquired using only the condition 1) related tothe body temperature.

Next, in step S503, the computation unit 104 refers to the preferenceinformation 2120 (FIG. 18 ) acquired prior to the drink determinationprocess, and counts, as the number of purchases of the drinkcorresponding to the similar weather date and time information under thesimilar physical condition, the number of pieces of similar weather dateand time information indicating dates and times within a predeterminedtime from the date and time indicated by the similar biologicalcondition date and time information among the pieces of similar weatherdate and time information acquired in step S502. In this specificexample, this predetermined time is one hour.

Specifically, in the preference information 2120 illustrated in FIG. 18, the computation unit 104 refers to the field “purchase date and time”of a record in which the product name (for example, green tea (cold)) ofeach drink determined to be available for sale in step S501 is writtenin the field “product name”. The computation unit 104 counts, as thenumber of purchases of each drink (for example, the drink with theproduct name “green tea (cold)”) corresponding to the similar weatherdate and time information under the similar physical condition, thenumber of pieces of similar weather date and time information (forexample, 89) indicating the dates and times in a period (for example,from 5:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020 to 7:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020) by the dateand time that is within a predetermined time from the date and time (forexample, 6:00:00 on Apr. 14, 2020) indicated by the each similar weatherdate and time information, among the “103” pieces of similar weatherdate and time, the number of which is the number of purchases under thesimilar weather that are included in the dates and times stored in thefield “purchase date and time” to which the reference is made, that isacquired in step S502, and that is indicated by the field “pastpreference under similar weather condition (number of purchases)” of thework table 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 .

In the work table 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 , the computation unit 104then stores the counted number of purchases under the similar physicalcondition (for example, 89) in the field “past preference under similarphysical condition (number of purchases)” of a record in which theproduct name (for example, green tea (cold)) of the drink is stored inthe field “product name”.

Next, the computation unit 104 assigns higher priorities to the drinksdetermined to be available for sale in step S501 in descending order ofthe number of purchases of the drink under the similar physicalcondition counted in step S503 by assuming that the drink for which thenumber of purchases under the similar physical condition is larger ismore likely to match the preference of the user of the communicationterminal 100 in relation to the weather at the current location of thecommunication terminal 100 and to the current physical condition of theuser of the communication terminal 100 (step S504).

For example, suppose that as a result of steps S501 and S503, theproduct name indicated by the type information included in each piece ofproduct information illustrated in FIG. 16 , the determination resultobtained in step S501, the number of purchases of each drink determinedto be available for sale in step S501, the number of purchases of eachdrink under the similar weather counted in step S502, and the number ofpurchases of each drink under the similar physical condition counted instep S503 among the number of purchases of the drink under the similarweather are stored in the fields “product name”, “available for sale”,“past preference (number of purchases)”, “past preference under similarweather condition (number of purchases)”, and “past preference undersimilar physical condition (number of purchases)” of each record of thework table 2600, respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 33 .

In this case, in step S504, the computation unit 104 assigns the highestpriority “1” to the drink of which the product name is “green tea(cold)” and of which the number of purchases under the similar physicalcondition stored in the field “past preference under similar physicalcondition (number of purchases)” is “89”, i.e., the largest. Thecomputation unit 104 then stores the assigned priority “1” in the field“priority” of the record corresponding to the drink in the work table2600.

Next, the computation unit 104 assigns the priority “2”, which is thenext highest priority of the priority “1”, to the drink of which theproduct name is “sports drink (cold)” and of which the number ofpurchases under the similar physical condition stored in the field “pastpreference under similar physical condition (number of purchases)” is“14”, i.e., the next largest. The computation unit 104 then stores theassigned priority “2” in the field “priority” of the recordcorresponding to the drink in the work table 2600.

Likewise, the priority “3” is assigned to the drink with the productname “carbonated drink (cold)”, and the priority “4” is assigned to thedrink with the product name “coffee 2”. The computation unit 104 assignsthe next priority (in this specific example, “5”) to the drinks whichare determined to be available for sale (for example, the drinks withthe product names “coffee 1”, “coffee 3”, and “beer 1”) and of which thenumber of purchases under the similar physical condition counted in stepS503 is “0”.

The computation unit 104 does not assign priorities to the drinksdetermined to be not available for sale in step S501 (for example, thedrinks with the product names “beer 2” and “beer 3”). Thus, thecomputation unit 104 stores “−” indicating that the drink is notrecommended to the user in the field “priority” of each recordcorresponding to the drink not available for sale in the work table2600.

In the seventh embodiment, in step S207 c (FIG. 31B), the computationunit 104 performs the drink determination process of steps S501 to S504.The computation unit 104 then generates a message that recommends adrink corresponding to a record in which “1” is stored in the field“priority” of the work table 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 , as themessage 820 included in the push notification screens 800B and 800Cillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively. The computation unit 104also generates a product image representing the drink corresponding tothe record in which “1” is stored in the field “priority” of the worktable 2600 illustrated in FIG. 33 , as the icon image 840 of the pushnotification screens 800B and 800C illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 ,respectively.

In step S210 c (FIG. 31B), with reference to the work table 2600illustrated in FIG. 33 , which is obtained by performing steps S501 toS504 of step S207 c (FIG. 31B), the computation unit 104 generates theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user, in which the tile objects 901(such as FIG. 12 ) representing the drinks corresponding to therespective records in which the priorities are stored in the field“priority” are arranged according to the stored priorities.

In the drink determination process described above, the order in whichsteps S502 and S503 are performed may be reversed. That is, the numberof purchases under the similar physical condition may be counted amongthe number of purchases of each drink determined to be available forsale in step S501, and then the number of purchases under the similarweather may be counted among the counted number of purchases under thesimilar physical condition. Then, the higher priorities may be assignedto the drinks determined to be available for sale in step S501 indescending order of the number of purchases under the similar weather.

Eighth Embodiment

An eighth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.In the seventh embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100 acquiresthe biological information of the user of the communication terminal 100from the first server 200. The eighth embodiment is different from theseventh embodiment in that the business entity X application in thecommunication terminal 100 acquires the biological information of theuser of the communication terminal 100 from the sensor application.

In the eighth embodiment, the memory 102 of the communication terminal100 has a table having the same configuration as the biologicalinformation table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 . For convenience ofexplanation, the table is hereinafter referred to as the biologicalinformation table 2300. The sensor application collects the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 periodicallymeasured by the biological sensor 600, and stores the collectedbiological information in the biological information table 2300 (FIG. 25) in time series in association with the user ID of the user and themeasurement date and time information indicating the measurement dateand time of the biological information.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the eighth embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the seventh embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 34Aand 34B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in theeighth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 34A, in the eighth embodiment, step S204 (FIG.7A) is performed as in the first embodiment, instead of step S204 b(FIG. 31A) in the seventh embodiment. In response to this, step S221(FIG. 7A) is performed in the first server 200 as in the firstembodiment. As a result, if it is determined that the user of thecommunication terminal 100 is a user with permission ([with permissionof user]), the preference information of the user with permission isreturned. If it is determined that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), information indicating that the personalinformation is inaccessible is returned. The returned information isreceived and output to the computation unit 104 by the communicationunit 101 of the communication terminal 100.

The computation unit 104 then executes the sensor application to acquirerecords including the user ID of the user of the communication terminal100 in the biological information table 2300 (FIG. 25 ) in the memory102, as the biological information of the user (step S206 b).Thereafter, the processing of step S205 and subsequent steps isperformed as in the seventh embodiment.

In the eighth embodiment, in step S207 c, the computation unit 104performs the drink determination process (steps S501 to S504 (FIG. 32 ))as in the seventh embodiment by using each combination of theidentification information of the vending machines 700 and the typeinformation and the stock information included in the productinformation which are acquired in step S202 each time a beacon signal isreceived, the preference information returned and acquired via thecommunication unit 101 in step S221, the preference information acquiredin step S205, the biological information acquired in step S206 b, andthe weather information acquired in step S206. In step S210 c, thecomputation unit 104 generates the individual purchase menu 900 withreference to the work table 2600 (FIG. 33 ) obtained by performing thedrink determination process (steps S501 to S504 (FIG. 32 )) in step S207c.

Ninth Embodiment

A ninth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. Inthe seventh embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity X application in the communication terminal 100 acquiresthe biological information of the user of the communication terminal 100from the first server 200, acquires the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 from the secondserver 500, generates the push notification screen 800 and theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user, and notifies the first server200 of the purchase information of the drink by the user of thecommunication terminal 100.

The ninth embodiment is different from the seventh embodiment in thatthe business entity management server 300 that provides the businessentity X application acquires the biological information of the user ofthe communication terminal 100 from the first server 200, acquires theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 from the second server 500, generates the push notificationscreen 800 and the individual purchase menu 900 for the user, andnotifies the first server 200 of the purchase information of the drinkby the user of the communication terminal 100.

In the ninth embodiment, the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100owned by a user with permission is managed as personal information ofthe user with permission in the first server 200.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the ninth embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the seventh embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 35Aand 35B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in theninth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 35A, the proximity communication unit 707 of eachof the vending machines 700 included in the vending machine managementsystem periodically transmits a beacon signal (step S271) as in theseventh embodiment.

The business entity X application is executed in the communicationterminal 100, so that step S201 is performed as in the seventhembodiment. Thus, information indicating the distance to the vendingmachine 700 that is the transmission source of the beacon signal and thetransmission direction of the beacon signal is stored in the memory 102.Step S202 is performed, so that the identification information foridentifying the vending machine 700 and the product informationincluding the type information and the stock information are stored inthe memory 102.

After step S202, if the preference information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 is stored in the memory 102 ([preferenceinformation stored]), the computation unit 104 acquires the preferenceinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 stored in thememory 102 (step S205 a).

The computation unit 104 then controls the communication unit 101 tosend, to the business entity management server 300, pieces ofinformation stored in the memory 102, i.e., the identificationinformation for identifying the communication terminal 100 including theuser ID, the information that indicates the distance to each vendingmachine 700 which is the transmission source of the beacon signal andthe transmission direction of the beacon signal and that is acquired instep S201, the preference information acquired in step S205 a, and theidentification information of the vending machine 700 which is thetransmission source of the beacon signal and the product informationthat are acquired in step S202 (step S203 a).

In response to this, in the business entity management server 300, basedon the identification information of the vending machine 700 and theproduct information acquired via the communication unit 301, thecomputation unit 302 updates the product information of the vendingmachine 700 corresponding to the identification information and storedin the memory 303.

In this way, each time the proximity communication unit 107 of thecommunication terminal 100 receives a beacon signal transmitted from theproximity communication unit 707 of the vending machine 700, theprocessing from step S201 to step S203 a is repeated in response to thereceipt.

If the proximity communication unit 107 of the communication terminal100 receives beacon signals transmitted from the proximity communicationunit 707 of the plurality of vending machines 700, the computation unit104 may execute merely steps S201 and S202 in response to the receipt ofeach beacon signal, and perform each of steps S205 a and S203 a justonce. Thus, the computation unit 104 may collectively send theidentification information for identifying the communication terminal100 including the user ID, the preference information acquired in stepS205 a, and the pieces of information acquired in steps S201 and S202 tothe business entity management server 300 in single step S203 a.

Suppose that the business entity X that provides the business entity Xapplication has an affiliation with the managing business entity of thefirst server 200 and that the business entity X is permitted to acquirepersonal information of each user stored in the first server 200. Inthis case ([with affiliation between business entities]), thecomputation unit 302 of the business entity management server 300controls the communication unit 301 to send, together with theidentification information for identifying the communication terminal100 acquired from the communication terminal 100, a signal requestingthe preference information and the biological information of the useridentified by the user ID included in the identification information andthe history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 owned by the user to thefirst server 200 (step S231 e).

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 (including the user ID for identifying theuser) and the signal requesting sending of the preference informationand the biological information of the user and the history 2210 (FIG. 20) of the weather information, which are sent in step S231 e, thecomputation unit 202 performs step S221 e (step S221 e).

Specifically, in step S221 e, if the computation unit 202 determinesthat the user indicated by the user ID included in the identificationinformation received by the communication unit 201 is a user withpermission ([with permission of user]), the computation unit 202controls the communication unit 201 to return the preference informationand the biological information of the user with permission and thehistory 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information that are acquiredfrom the memory 203 to the business entity management server 300. On theother hand, if the computation unit 202 determines that the user is nota user with permission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 controlsthe communication unit 201 to return information indicating that thepersonal information is inaccessible to the business entity managementserver 300. The returned information is received and output to thecomputation unit 302 by the communication unit 301 of the businessentity management server 300.

If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 may control thecommunication unit 201 to send a message for checking whether to permitthe business entity management server 300 to read the personalinformation, to the communication terminal 100 indicated by theidentification information acquired from the business entity managementserver 300. Suppose that in response to this, the computation unit 202acquires a reply indicating permission from the communication terminal100 via the communication unit 201. In this case, the computation unit202 may acquire, from the memory 203, the preference information and thebiological information of the user indicated by the user ID included thereceived identification information and the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) ofthe weather information in step S221 e. The computation unit 202 thenmay cause the communication unit 201 to return the acquired informationto the business entity management server 300.

Next, the computation unit 302 performs step S233 to acquire the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal 100(step S233).

Specifically, in step S233, the computation unit 302 acquires, from thememory 303, location information that indicates a location where any oneof the vending machines 700 is installed and that is associated with theidentification information of the one of the vending machines 700received from the communication terminal 100. Thus, the computation unit302 acquires the location information indicating the installed locationof the one of the vending machines 700 located near the communicationterminal 100, as the location information indicating the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100.

The computation unit 302 then controls the communication unit 301 tosend, together with the acquired location information, a signalrequesting acquisition of weather information of a region including thelocation indicated by the location information to the second server 500.If the weather information of the region including the installedlocation of the one of the vending machines 700 is returned from thesecond server 500 in response to this, the computation unit 302 acquiresthe returned weather information as the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal 100 via the communicationunit 301.

In step S233, the computation unit 302 may control the communicationunit 301 to send, together with the location information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100, a signal requesting weatherinformation of a region including the location indicated by the locationinformation to the second server 500. Thus, the computation unit 302 maydirectly acquire the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal 100 from the second server 500. In step S203 a,the computation unit 104 may control the communication unit 101 to sendthe location information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 to the business entity management server 300 together withthe identification information for identifying the communicationterminal 100 including the user ID and so on. The computation unit 302may acquire the sent location information of the current location of thecommunication terminal 100 via the communication unit 301.

As in the first embodiment, in response to receipt of the signalrequesting acquisition of the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 via the communication unit501, the computation unit 502 of the second server 500 reads, from thememory 503, weather information associated with date and timeinformation indicating the most recent date and time, for example, fromamong pieces of weather information of the region including the locationindicated by the location information included in the signal, and causesthe communication unit 501 to return the read weather information. Theacquisition method is not limited to this. The computation unit 502 mayread one or more pieces of weather information associated with date andtime information indicating a past predetermined period from thereception time of the signal, for example, from among the pieces ofweather information, stored in the memory 503, of the region includingthe location indicated by the location information included in thesignal received by the communication unit 501, and cause thecommunication unit 501 to return the read one or more pieces of weatherinformation.

If the weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 is included in the weather information acquired by thebusiness entity management server 300 from the first server 200 in stepS221 e, step S233 may be skipped. If the latest date and timeinformation in the field “date and time information” among the weatherinformation acquired by the business entity management server 300 fromthe first server 200 in step S221 e is sufficiently close to the currenttime (for example, within an hour or 15 minutes from the current time),the weather information corresponding to the latest date and timeinformation may be handled as the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 and step S233 may be skipped.

Next, the computation unit 302 generates the push notification screen800, based on each combination of the identification information of thevending machines 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, thebiological information, and the weather information that are acquired inthe preceding steps (step S234 c). Each combination of theidentification information of the vending machines 700 and the typeinformation and the stock information included in the productinformation is a combination sent and acquired via the communicationunit 301 in step S203 a. The preference information is the preferenceinformation sent and acquired via the communication unit 301 in stepS203 a and the preference information returned and acquired via thecommunication unit 301 in step S221 e. The weather information is thehistory 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information returned and acquiredvia the communication unit 301 in step S221 e and the weatherinformation acquired in step S233.

In the ninth embodiment, in step S234 c, the computation unit 302performs the drink determination process (steps S501 to S504 (FIG. 32 ))by using each combination of the identification information of thevending machine 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, the preference information, thebiological information, and the weather information. Thus, thecomputation unit 302 generates a message that recommends a drinkcorresponding to a record in which “1” is stored in the field “priority”of the work table 2600 (FIG. 33 ), as the message 820 included in thepush notification screens 800B and 800C illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 ,respectively. The computation unit 302 also generates a product imagerepresenting the drink corresponding to the record in which “1” isstored in the field “priority” of the work table 2600 (FIG. 33 ), as theicon image 840 of the push notification screens 800B and 800Cillustrated in FIGS. 9 and 11 , respectively.

The computation unit 302 then controls the communication unit 301 tosend information representing the push notification screen 800 generatedin step S234 c to the communication terminal 100 (step S235).

On the other hand, in the communication terminal 100, in response toacquiring, via the communication unit 101, the information representingthe push notification screen 800 sent in step S235, the computation unit104 displays the push notification screen 800 represented by theacquired information on the display 105 of the communication terminal100 (step S208 a).

If receipt of a beacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107 isnot detected for a predetermined time or more since the pushnotification screen 800 is displayed in step S208 a, ([without receiptof beacon signal for predetermined time or more]), the computation unit104 performs processing of hiding the displayed push notification screen800 to hide the push notification screen 800. The computation unit 104then ends the process (step S209). After ending the process, thecomputation unit 104 returns to a state of waiting for receipt of abeacon signal by the proximity communication unit 107.

On the other hand, if the user performs an operation (for example, atouch operation) of selecting the push notification screen 800 by usingthe operation unit 106 ([push notification screen selected]), thecomputation unit 104 controls the communication unit 101 to send asignal requesting generation of the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100 to the business entity managementserver 300 (step S210 a). The signal requesting generation of theindividual purchase menu 900 for the user is received and output to thecomputation unit 302 by the communication unit 301 of the businessentity management server 300.

In response to acquiring, via the communication unit 301, the signalrequesting generation of the individual purchase menu 900 for the userof the communication terminal 100 sent in step S210 a, the computationunit 302 generates the individual purchase menu 900 for the user of thecommunication terminal 100, based on the type information and the stockinformation included in the product information, the preferenceinformation, the biological information, and the weather informationthat are used in step S234 c (step S236 c).

In the ninth embodiment, in step S236 c, the computation unit 302 refersto the work table 2600 (FIG. 33 ) obtained by performing the drinkdetermination process (steps S501 to S504 (FIG. 32 )) in step S234 c byusing each combination of the identification information of the vendingmachine 700 and the type information and stock information included inthe product information described above, the preference information, thebiological information, and the weather information. The computationunit 302 then generates the individual purchase menu 900 in which thetile objects 901 (such as FIG. 12 ) representing the drinkscorresponding to the respective records in which the priorities arestored in the field “priority” are arranged according to the storedpriorities.

The computation unit 302 then controls the communication unit 301 tosend information representing the individual purchase menu 900 for theuser of the communication terminal 100, generated in step S236 c, to thecommunication terminal 100 (step S237).

In the communication terminal 100, in response to acquiring, via thecommunication unit 101, the information representing the individualpurchase menu 900 for the user of the communication terminal 100 sent instep S237, the computation unit 104 displays the individual purchasemenu 900 for the user of the communication terminal 100 represented bythe acquired information on the display 105 of the communicationterminal 100 (step S211 a).

After step S211 a, as in the seventh embodiment, steps S212, S213, andS272 are performed, so that the drink purchased by the user is providedto the user.

After step S213, the computation unit 104 of the communication terminal100 controls the communication unit 101 to send the purchase informationof the drink to the business entity management server 300 (step S214 a).Thus, in the business entity management server 300, the purchaseinformation of the drink sent in step S214 a is received and output tothe computation unit 302 by the communication unit 301. The purchaseinformation of the drink includes the user ID of the user of thecommunication terminal 100, the date and time information indicating thepurchase date and time of the drink by the user, the identificationinformation for identifying the vending machine 700 from which the userpurchased the drink, and the type information indicating the type of thedrink purchased by the user.

In response to acquiring the purchase information of the drink from thecommunication unit 301, the computation unit 302 of the business entitymanagement server 300 causes the communication unit 301 to send a signalrequesting update of the purchase history information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 to the first server 200 together with theacquired purchase information of the drink (step S238). In response tothis, step S222 is performed in the first server 200 as in the seventhembodiment, and if the user of the communication terminal 100 is a userwith permission, the purchase history information of the user withpermission stored in the memory 203 is updated.

Tenth Embodiment

A tenth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. Inthe ninth embodiment, an example has been described in which thebusiness entity management server 300 acquires the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 from the firstserver 200. The tenth embodiment is different from the ninth embodimentin that the business entity management server 300 requests the sensorapplication in the communication terminal 100 to send the biologicalinformation of the user of the communication terminal 100 and acquiresthe biological information from the sensor application.

In the tenth embodiment, the memory 102 of the communication terminal100 has a table having the same configuration as the biologicalinformation table 2300 illustrated in FIG. 25 as in the eighthembodiment. For convenience of explanation, the table is hereinafterreferred to as the biological information table 2300. As in the eighthembodiment, the sensor application collects the biological informationof the user of the communication terminal 100 periodically measured bythe biological sensor 600, and stores the collected biologicalinformation in the biological information table 2300 (FIG. 25 ) in timeseries in association with the user ID of the user and the measurementdate and time information indicating the measurement date and time ofthe biological information.

An overview of a process performed in the vending machine managementsystem in the tenth embodiment will be described below. In thedescription below, a description of processing having the same detailsas those of the ninth embodiment is omitted as appropriate. FIGS. 36Aand 36B are a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overviewof the process performed in the vending machine management system in thetenth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIGS. 36A, in the tenth embodiment, step S231 isperformed instead of step S231 e (FIG. 35A) in the ninth embodiment.

Specifically, suppose that the business entity X that provides thebusiness entity X application has an affiliation with the managingbusiness entity of the first server 200 and that the business entity Xis permitted to acquire personal information of each user stored in thefirst server 200 via the business entity management server 300. In thiscase ([with affiliation between business entities]), the computationunit 302 of the business entity management server 300 controls thecommunication unit 301 to send, together with the identificationinformation for identifying the communication terminal 100 acquired fromthe communication terminal 100, a signal requesting sending of thepreference information of the user identified by the user ID included inthe identification information and the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 owned by the user to the first server 200 (step S231).

In the first server 200, in response to the communication unit 201receiving the identification information for identifying thecommunication terminal 100 (including the user ID for identifying theuser) and the signal requesting sending of the preference information ofthe user and the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information,which are sent in step S231, the computation unit 202 performs step S221a instead of step S221 e (FIG. 35A) in the ninth embodiment (step S221a).

Specifically, in step S221 a, if the computation unit 202 determinesthat the user indicated by the user ID included in the identificationinformation received by the communication unit 201 is a user withpermission ([with permission of user]), the computation unit 202controls the communication unit 201 to return the preference informationof the user with permission and the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of theweather information that are acquired from the memory 203 to thebusiness entity management server 300. On the other hand, if thecomputation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 controls thecommunication unit 201 to return information indicating that thepersonal information is inaccessible to the business entity managementserver 300. The returned information is received and output to thecomputation unit 302 by the communication unit 301 of the businessentity management server 300.

If the computation unit 202 determines that the user is not a user withpermission ([otherwise]), the computation unit 202 may control thecommunication unit 201 to send a message for checking whether to permitthe business entity management server 300 to read the personalinformation, to the communication terminal 100 indicated by theidentification information acquired from the business entity managementserver 300. Suppose that in response to this, the computation unit 202acquires a reply indicating permission from the communication terminal100 via the communication unit 201. In this case, the computation unit202 may acquire, from the memory 203, the preference informationincluded in the personal information of the user indicated by the userID included in the identification information received in step S231 andthe history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information. The computationunit 202 then may cause the communication unit 201 to return theacquired information to the business entity management server 300.

Next, the computation unit 302 requests the communication terminal 100indicated by the terminal ID included in the identification informationfor identifying the communication terminal 100 acquired in step S203 ato send the biological information of the user of the communicationterminal 100, and acquires the biological information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 returned in response the request (step S239).

Specifically, in step S239, the computation unit 302 controls thecommunication unit 301 to send a signal requesting sending of thebiological information of the user of the communication terminal 100 tothe communication terminal 100 indicated by the terminal ID included inthe identification information for identifying the communicationterminal 100 acquired in step S203 a. In the communication terminal 100,in response to the communication unit 101 receiving the signalrequesting sending of the biological information of the user of thecommunication terminal 100, the communication unit 101 notifies thecomputation unit 104 of the receipt. In response to receiving thenotification, the computation unit 104 executes the sensor applicationto acquire records including the user ID of the user of thecommunication terminal 100 in the biological information table 2300(FIG. 25 ) in the memory 102, as the biological information of the user.The computation unit 104 then causes the communication unit 101 toreturn the acquired biological information. In response to this, thecomputation unit 302 of the business entity management server 300acquires, via the communication unit 301, the biological information ofthe user of the communication terminal 100 returned from thecommunication terminal 100. Thereafter, the processing of step S233 andsubsequent steps is performed as in the ninth embodiment.

In the tenth embodiment, in step S234 c, the computation unit 302performs the drink determination process (steps S501 to S504 (FIG. 32 ))by using each combination of the identification information of thevending machine 700 and the type information and the stock informationincluded in the product information, which are sent and acquired via thecommunication unit 301 in step S203 a, the preference information sentand acquired via the communication unit 301 in step S203 a, thepreference information returned and acquired via the communication unit301 in step S221 a, the biological information acquired in step S239,the history 2210 (FIG. 20 ) of the weather information returned andacquired via the communication unit 301 in step S221 a, and the weatherinformation acquired in step S233.

If the weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal 100 is included in the weather information acquired by thebusiness entity management server 300 from the first server 200 in stepS221 a, step S233 may be skipped. If the latest date and timeinformation in the field “date and time information” among the weatherinformation acquired by the business entity management server 300 fromthe first server 200 in step S221 a is sufficiently close to the currenttime (for example, within an hour or 15 minutes from the current time),the weather information corresponding to the latest date and timeinformation may be handled as the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal 100 and step S233 may be skipped.

In step S236 c, the computation unit 104 generates the individualpurchase menu 900 with reference to the work table 2600 (FIG. 33 )obtained by performing the drink determination process (steps S501 toS504 (FIG. 32 )) in step S234 c by using the type information and stockinformation included in the product information described above, thepreference information, the biological information, and the weatherinformation.

The seventh embodiment to the tenth embodiment include other aspects ofthe present disclosure described below.

A control method according to another first aspect of the presentdisclosure is a control method executed in a communication terminal,

the control method including causing a computer of the communicationterminal to perform a process including:

acquiring, in response to receipt of a beacon signal transmitted from avending machine of drinks, i) identification information for identifyingthe vending machine, ii) type information indicating types of aplurality of drinks stored in the vending machine, and iii) stockinformation indicating quantities of stock of the plurality of drinksstored in the vending machine from the vending machine of drinks byusing short-range wireless communication;

acquiring preference information on drinks of a user of thecommunication terminal;

acquiring weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal via a network;

acquiring current biological information of the user;

generating a push notification screen, based on the identificationinformation, the type information, the stock information, the preferenceinformation, the weather information, and the biological information,the push notification screen being a screen that recommends at least onedrink that matches a preference of the user indicated by the preferenceinformation in relation to weather, indicated by the weatherinformation, at the current location of the communication terminal andto a current physical condition of the user indicated by the biologicalinformation from among the plurality of drinks stored in the vendingmachine indicated by the identification information; and

displaying the push notification screen on a display of thecommunication terminal.

The “acquiring weather information of a current location of thecommunication terminal via a network” includes acquiring weatherinformation corresponding to an installed location of the vendingmachine indicated by the identification information via a network andacquiring this weather information as the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen that recommendsat least one drink that matches the preference of the user is displayedon the display of the communication terminal of the user in response tothe user merely passing in front of the vending machine of drinks,irrespective of a purchase intention of the user.

A purchase menu from the vending machine of drinks is not displayed butmerely the push notification screen for displaying the purchase menu isdisplayed. Thus, irksomeness caused by the purchase menu from thevending machine being displayed irrespective of the absence of thepurchase intention of the user can be reduced.

The push notification screen is generated by taking into account thepreference information on drinks of the user, the weather information ofthe current location of the communication terminal, and the currentphysical condition of the user. Thus, a drink can be recommended thatmatches the preference of the user at a timing when the user passes infront of or is near the vending machine.

When the user purchases the recommended drink, the user displays thepurchase menu according to their will. Thus, the user takes theinitiative in determining whether to display the purchase menu.

Thus, a drink can be recommended that matches the preference of the userat a timing when the user passes in front of the vending machine whilereducing irksomeness caused by the purchase menu of drinks beingdisplayed on the display of the communication terminal against theintention of the user.

In the control method described above, the push notification screen maybe used for displaying, on the display of the communication terminal, apurchase menu that allows the at least one drink to be purchased fromamong the plurality of drinks stored in the vending machine.

According to this aspect, a user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can use the push notificationscreen to display, on the display, the purchase menu that allows theuser to purchase the at least one drink that matches the preference ofthe user. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can quickly purchase the at least one drinkthat matches the preference of the user.

In the control method described above, the process may further includegenerating, in response to the push notification screen displayed on thedisplay of the communication terminal being selected, an individualpurchase menu for the user, based on the type information, the stockinformation, the preference information, the weather information, andthe biological information, the individual purchase menu being a menudisplaying drinks that match the preference of the user indicated by thepreference information in order according to a degree of matching thepreference of the user in relation to the weather, indicated by theweather information, at the current location of the communicationterminal and the current physical condition of the user indicated by thebiological information from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine indicated by the identification information; and

displaying the individual purchase menu on the display of thecommunication terminal.

According to this aspect, by selecting the push notification screen, theuser who wishes to purchase a drink after viewing the push notificationscreen can display, on the display, the individual purchase menu thatdisplays drinks that match the preference of the user in order accordingto a degree of matching the preference of the user in relation to theweather at the current location and to the current physical condition ofthe user. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can browse the drinks that match thepreference of the user under the weather at that time and the physicalcondition of the user in order according to the degree of matching thepreference of the user and can purchase any of the drinks.

In the control method described above, the process may further includedisplaying, on the display on which the push notification screen isdisplayed, a direction indication indicating a transmission direction ofthe beacon signal transmitted from the vending machine of drinks.

According to this aspect, the direction indication indicating thetransmission direction of the beacon signal transmitted from the vendingmachine of drinks is displayed on the display on which the pushnotification screen is displayed. Thus, the user of the communicationterminal can easily grasp the direction in which the vending machinethat sells the drink recommended in the push notification screen ispresent.

In the control method described above, the process may further includedisplaying, on the display on which the individual purchase menu isdisplayed, a direction indication indicating a transmission direction ofthe beacon signal transmitted from the vending machine of drinks.

According to this aspect, the direction indication indicating thetransmission direction of the beacon signal transmitted from the vendingmachine of drinks is displayed on the display on which the individualpurchase menu is displayed. Thus, the user of the communication terminalcan easily grasp the direction in which the vending machine storing thedrinks displayed in the individual purchase menu is present.

In the control method described above, the process may further includereceiving a beacon signal transmitted from the vending machine ofdrinks; and

hiding the displayed push notification screen in response to an elapseof a predetermined time during which receipt of the beacon signal is notdetected.

According to this aspect, if receipt of a beacon signal transmitted fromthe vending machine of drinks is not detected for the predeterminedtime, the displayed push notification screen is hidden. Thus, when thepredetermined time elapses since the user moves to a place where thebeacon signal is not receivable and the user presumably does not wish topurchase any drink from the vending machine, the push notificationscreen that recommends a drink being kept uselessly displayed on thedisplay can be avoided.

In the control method described above, the preference information ondrinks of the user may be stored in the first server that stores thepersonal information of the user and may be acquired from the firstserver.

According to this aspect, the preference information on drinks of theuser of the communication terminal is acquired from the first serverthat stores the personal information of the user. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the preference information on drinksof the user in the communication terminal can be omitted.

In the control method described above, the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal may be acquired from asecond server that stores the weather information.

The “weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information corresponding to an installedlocation of the vending machine indicated by the identificationinformation. The “second server that stores the weather information”includes the first server that stores, as the personal information ofthe user, a history of the weather information of the current locationof the communication terminal owned by the user.

According to this aspect, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal is acquired from the secondserver that stores the weather information. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal in the communicationterminal can be omitted.

In the control method described above, the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal may include at least oneof a temperature, a humidity, a heat index, a solar radiation, or aweather type.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen is generated bytaking into account the preference information on drinks of the user ofthe communication terminal and at least any one of the temperature, thehumidity, the heat index, the solar radiation, or the weather type atthe current location of the communication terminal. Thus, drinks can berecommended that match the preference of the user in relation to atleast one of the temperature, the humidity, the heat index, the solarradiation, or the weather type at the timing when the user is near thevending machine.

In the control method described above, the current biologicalinformation of the user may be stored in the first server and may beacquired from the first server.

According to this aspect, the current biological information of the userof the communication terminal is acquired from the first server thatstores the personal information of the user. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the current biological informationof the user in the communication terminal can be omitted.

In the control method described above, the current biologicalinformation of the user may be acquired from a biological sensorincluded in the communication terminal.

According to this aspect, the current biological information of the userof the communication terminal is acquired from the biological sensorincluded in the communication terminal. Thus, the current biologicalinformation of the user at the current location of the communicationterminal can be acquired.

In the control method described above, the current biologicalinformation of the user may be acquired via the communication terminalfrom a biological sensor capable of communicating with the communicationterminal.

According to this aspect, the current biological information of the userof the communication terminal is acquired, via the communicationterminal, from the biological sensor capable of communicating with thecommunication terminal. Thus, even if the biological sensor is locatedat a place away from the communication terminal, the current biologicalinformation of the user can be acquired.

In the control method described above, the biological information mayinclude information on at least one of a systolic blood pressure, adiastolic blood pressure, a heart rate, a body water percentage, or abody temperature.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen is generated bytaking into account the preference information on the drinks of the userof the communication terminal, the weather at the current location ofthe communication terminal, and at least one of the systolic bloodpressure, the diastolic blood pressure, the heart rate, the body waterpercentage, or the body temperature of the user. Thus, a drink can berecommended that matches the preference of the user suitable for atleast one of the systolic blood pressure, the diastolic blood pressure,the heart rate, the body water percentage, or the body temperature aswell as the ambient weather type when the user is near the vendingmachine.

The present disclosure can also be implemented as a program that causesa computer to execute each characteristic configuration included in thecontrol method according to the other first aspect described above, oras a communication terminal that operates based on this program.Obviously, such a computer program can be distributed via anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM orvia a communication network such as the Internet.

A control method according to another second aspect of the presentdisclosure is a control method executed in a communication terminal,

the control method including causing a computer of the communicationterminal to perform a process including:

acquiring, in response to receipt of a first beacon signal transmittedfrom a first vending machine of drinks, i) first identificationinformation for identifying the first vending machine, ii) first typeinformation indicating types of a first group of drinks stored in thefirst vending machine, and iii) first stock information indicatingquantities of stock of the first group of drinks stored in the firstvending machine from the first vending machine of drinks by usingshort-range wireless communication;

acquiring, in response to receipt of a second beacon signal transmittedfrom a second vending machine of drinks, i) second identificationinformation for identifying the second vending machine, ii) second typeinformation indicating types of a second group of drinks stored in thesecond vending machine, and iii) second stock information indicatingquantities of stock of the second group of drinks stored in the secondvending machine from the second vending machine of drinks by usingshort-range wireless communication;

acquiring preference information on drinks of a user of thecommunication terminal;

acquiring current biological information of the user;

acquiring weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal via a network;

generating a push notification screen, based on the first identificationinformation, the first type information, the first stock information,the second identification information, the second type information, thesecond stock information, the preference information, the weatherinformation, and the biological information, the push notificationscreen being a screen that recommends at least one drink that matches apreference of the user indicated by the preference information inrelation to weather, indicated by the weather information, at thecurrent location of the communication terminal and to a current physicalcondition of the user indicated by the biological information from amongthe first group of drinks stored in the first vending machine indicatedby the first identification information and the second group of drinksstored in the second vending machine indicated by the secondidentification information; and

displaying the push notification screen on a display of thecommunication terminal.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen that recommendsat least one drink that matches the preference of the user is displayedon the display of the communication terminal of the user in response tothe user merely passing in front of the first vending machine and thesecond vending machine that respectively sell the first group of drinksand the second group of drinks and are installed adjacently to or inproximity to each other, irrespective of a purchase intention of theuser.

A first purchase menu from the first vending machine of the first groupof drinks and a second purchase menu from the second vending machine ofthe second group of drinks are not displayed but merely the pushnotification screen for recommending purchase is displayed. Thus,irksomeness caused by the first purchase menu and the second purchasemenu being displayed irrespective of the absence of the purchaseintention of the user can be reduced.

The push notification screen is generated by taking into account thepreference information on drinks of the user, the weather information ofthe current location of the communication terminal, and the currentphysical condition of the user. Thus, drinks can be recommended thatmatch the preference of the user at a timing when the user passes infront of or is near the first vending machine and the second vendingmachine from among both the first group of drinks stored in the firstvending machine and the second group of drinks stored in the secondvending machine.

When the user purchases the recommended drink, the user displays thefirst purchase menu and the second purchase menu according to theirwill. Thus, the user takes the initiative in determining whether todisplay the purchase menus.

Thus, a drink can be recommended that matches the preference of the userat a timing when the user passes in front of the first vending machineand the second vending machine that respectively sell the first group ofdrinks and the second group of drinks and are installed in adjacently toeach other, while reducing irksomeness caused by the purchase menu ofdrinks being displayed on the display of the communication terminalagainst the intention of the user.

In the control method described above, the push notification screen maybe used for displaying, on the display of the communication terminal, apurchase menu that allows the at least one drink to be purchased fromamong the first group of drinks stored in the first vending machine andthe second group of drinks stored in the second vending machine.

According to this aspect, a user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can use the push notificationscreen to display, on the display, the purchase menu that allows theuser to purchase the at least one drink that matches the preference ofthe user from among the first group of drinks stored in the firstvending machine and the second group of drinks stored in the secondvending machine. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can quickly purchase the at leastone drink that matches the preference of the user without any effort todisplay the individual purchase menu from the vending machine.

In the control method described above, the process may further includegenerating, in response to the push notification screen displayed on thedisplay of the communication terminal being selected, an individualpurchase menu for the user, based on the first type information, thefirst stock information, the second type information, the second stockinformation, the preference information, the weather information, andthe biological information, the individual purchase menu being a menudisplaying drinks that match the preference of the user indicated by thepreference information in order according to a degree of matching thepreference of the user in relation to the weather, indicated by theweather information, at the current location of the communicationterminal and to the current physical condition of the user indicated bythe biological information from among the first group of drinks storedin the first vending machine indicated by the first identificationinformation and the second group of drinks stored in the second vendingmachine indicated by the second identification information; and

displaying the individual purchase menu on the display of thecommunication terminal.

According to this aspect, by selecting the push notification screen, theuser who wishes to purchase a drink after viewing the push notificationscreen can display, on the display, the individual purchase menu thatdisplays drinks that match the preference of the user in order accordingto a degree of matching the preference of the user in relation to theweather at the current location and to the current physical condition ofthe user. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can purchase a drink that matches thepreference of the user under the weather and the physical condition ofthe user at that time while being sensible of the order of the degree ofmatching the preference of the user.

In the control method described above, the process may further includedisplaying, on the display on which the push notification screen isdisplayed, at least one of a first direction indication indicating atransmission direction of the first beacon signal transmitted from thefirst vending machine or a second direction indication indicating atransmission direction of the second beacon signal transmitted from thesecond vending machine.

According to this aspect, at least one of the first direction indicationindicating the transmission direction of the first beacon signaltransmitted from the first vending machine or the second directionindication indicating the transmission direction of the second beaconsignal transmitted from the second vending machine is displayed on thedisplay on which the push notification screen is displayed. Thus, theuser of the communication terminal can easily grasp the direction inwhich at least one of the first vending machine or the second vendingmachine recommended in the push notification screen is present.

In the control method described above, when one drink is displayed inthe push notification screen, a direction indication indicating atransmission direction of a beacon signal transmitted from the vendingmachine storing the one drink may be displayed together with the onedrink.

According to this aspect, the user can easily grasp the direction of thevending machine storing the drink recommended in the push notificationscreen.

In the control method described above, the process may further include,in response to one drink being selected using the individual purchasemenu displayed on the display,

based on a transmission direction of the first beacon signal or thesecond beacon signal transmitted from one vending machine storing theone drink among the first vending machine and the second vendingmachine,

displaying, on the display on which the individual purchase menu isdisplayed, a direction indication indicating the one vending machinestoring the one drink among the first vending machine and the secondvending machine.

According to this aspect, when one drink is selected using theindividual purchase menu, the direction indication indicating the onevending machine storing the one drink among the first vending machineand the second vending machine is displayed on the display on which theindividual purchase menu is displayed. Thus, the user of thecommunication terminal can easily grasp the direction in which thevending machine storing the one drink selected using the individualpurchase menu is present.

The present disclosure can also be implemented as a program that causesa computer to execute each characteristic configuration included in thecontrol method according to the other second aspect described above, oras a communication terminal that operates based on this program.Obviously, such a computer program can be distributed via anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM orvia a communication network such as the Internet.

An information providing method according to another third aspect of thepresent disclosure is an information providing method for a vendingmachine management system that manages stock information for a vendingmachine for drinks, the information providing method including:

acquiring, from a communication terminal via a network, i) firstidentification information for identifying the communication terminal,ii) second identification information for identifying the vendingmachine, iii) type information indicating types of a plurality of drinksstored in the vending machine, and iv) the stock information indicatingquantities of stock of the plurality of drinks stored in the vendingmachine, ii) the second identification information, iii) the typeinformation, and the iv) the stock information being acquired in thecommunication terminal from the vending machine of drinks by usingshort-range wireless communication in response to receipt of a beaconsignal transmitted from the vending machine of drinks;

acquiring preference information on drinks of a user of thecommunication terminal;

acquiring weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal via the network;

acquiring current biological information of the user via the network;

generating information of a push notification screen, based on thesecond identification information, the type information, the stockinformation, the preference information, the weather information, andthe biological information, the push notification screen being a screenthat recommends at least one drink that matches a preference of the userindicated by the preference information in relation to weather,indicated by the weather information, at the current location of thecommunication terminal and to a current physical condition of the userindicated by the biological information from among the plurality ofdrinks stored in the vending machine indicated by the secondidentification information; and

outputting the information of the push notification screen to thecommunication terminal to display the push notification screen on adisplay of the communication terminal.

The “weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information corresponding to an installedlocation of the vending machine indicated by the second identificationinformation.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen that recommendsat least one drink that matches the preference of the user is displayedon the display of the communication terminal of the user in response tothe user merely passing in front of or being near the vending machine ofdrinks, irrespective of a purchase intention of the user.

A purchase menu from the vending machine of drinks is not displayed butmerely the push notification screen for displaying the purchase menu isdisplayed. Thus, irksomeness caused by the purchase menu from thevending machine being displayed irrespective of the absence of thepurchase intention of the user can be reduced.

The push notification screen is generated by taking into account thepreference information on drinks of the user, the weather information ofthe current location of the communication terminal, and the currentphysical condition of the user. Thus, a drink can be recommended thatmatches the preference of the user at a timing when the user passes infront of the vending machine.

When the user purchases the recommended drink, the user displays thepurchase menu according to their will. Thus, the user takes theinitiative in determining whether to display the purchase menu.

Thus, a drink can be recommended that matches the preference of the userat a timing when the user passes in front of or is near the vendingmachine while reducing irksomeness caused by the purchase menu of drinksbeing displayed on the display of the communication terminal against theintention of the user.

In the information providing method described above, the pushnotification screen may be used for displaying, on the display of thecommunication terminal, a purchase menu that allows the at least onedrink to be purchased from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine.

According to this aspect, a user who wishes to purchase a drink afterviewing the push notification screen can use the push notificationscreen to display, on the display, the purchase menu that allows theuser to purchase the at least one drink that matches the preference ofthe user. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can quickly purchase the at least one drinkthat matches the preference of the user.

In the information providing method described above, the process mayfurther include: acquiring, from the communication terminal, informationindicating that the push notification screen displayed on the display isselected;

generating information of an individual purchase menu for the user,based on the type information, the stock information, the preferenceinformation, the weather information, and the biological information,the individual purchase menu for the user being a menu displaying drinksthat match the preference of the user indicated by the preferenceinformation in order according to a degree of matching the preference ofthe user in relation to weather, indicated by the weather information,at the current location of the communication terminal and to the currentphysical condition of the user indicated by the biological informationfrom among the plurality of drinks stored in the vending machineindicated by the second identification information; and

outputting the information of the individual purchase menu to thecommunication terminal to display the individual purchase menu on thedisplay of the communication terminal.

The “weather at the current location of the communication terminal”includes weather corresponding to the installed location of the vendingmachine indicated by the second identification information.

According to this aspect, by selecting the push notification screen, theuser who wishes to purchase a drink after viewing the push notificationscreen can display, on the display, the individual purchase menu thatdisplays drinks that match the preference of the user in order accordingto a degree of matching the preference of the user in relation to theweather at the current location and to the current physical condition ofthe user. Thus, the user who wishes to purchase a drink after viewingthe push notification screen can purchase a drink that matches thepreference of the user under the weather and the physical condition ofthe user at that time while being sensible of the order of the degree ofmatching the preference of the user.

In the information providing method described above, the preferenceinformation on drinks of the user may be stored in the first server thatstores the personal information of the user and may be acquired from thefirst server.

According to this aspect, the preference information on drinks of theuser of the communication terminal is acquired from the first serverthat stores the personal information of the user. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the preference information on drinksof the user in the communication terminal can be omitted.

In the information providing method described above, the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal may beacquired from a second server that stores the weather information.

The “weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal” includes weather information of the installed location of thevending machine indicated by the identification information. The “secondserver that stores the weather information” includes the first serverthat stores, as the personal information of the user, a history of theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal owned by the user.

According to this aspect, the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal is acquired from the secondserver that stores the weather information. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the weather information of thecurrent location of the communication terminal in the communicationterminal can be omitted.

In the information providing method described above, the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminal mayinclude at least one of a temperature, a humidity, a heat index, a solarradiation, or a weather type.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen is generated bytaking into account the preference information on drinks of the user ofthe communication terminal and at least one of the temperature, thehumidity, the heat index, the solar radiation, or the weather type atthe current location of the communication terminal. Thus, a drink can berecommended that matches the preference of the user in relation to atleast one of the temperature, the humidity, the heat index, the solarradiation, or the weather type at the timing when the user passes infront of or is near the vending machine.

In the information providing method described above, the currentbiological information of the user may be stored in the first server andmay be acquired from the first server.

According to this aspect, the current biological information of the userof the communication terminal is acquired from the first server thatstores the personal information of the user. Thus, providing aconfiguration necessary for storing the current biological informationof the user in the communication terminal can be omitted.

In the information providing method described above, the communicationterminal may include a biological sensor, and

the current biological information of the user may be acquired from thecommunication terminal including the biological sensor.

According to this aspect, the current biological information of the userof the communication terminal is acquired from the communicationterminal including the biological sensor. Thus, the current biologicalinformation of the user at the current location of the communicationterminal can be acquired.

In the information providing method described above, the communicationterminal is capable of communicating with a biological sensor, and thecurrent biological information of the user may be acquired from thebiological sensor via the communication terminal.

According to this aspect, the current biological information of the userof the communication terminal is acquired, via the communicationterminal, from the biological sensor capable of communicating with thecommunication terminal. Thus, even if the biological sensor is locatedat a place away from the communication terminal, the current biologicalinformation of the user can be acquired.

In the information providing method described above, the biologicalinformation may include information on at least one of a systolic bloodpressure, a diastolic blood pressure, a heart rate, a body waterpercentage, or a body temperature.

According to this aspect, the push notification screen is generated bytaking into account the preference information on the drinks of the userof the communication terminal, the weather at the current location ofthe communication terminal, and at least one of the systolic bloodpressure, the diastolic blood pressure, the heart rate, the body waterpercentage, or the body temperature of the user. Thus, a drink can berecommended that matches the preference of the user in relation to atleast one of the systolic blood pressure, the diastolic blood pressure,the heart rate, the body water percentage, or the body temperature whenthe user passes in front of or is near the vending machine.

The present disclosure is useful in recommending, to a user, a productwhich the user presumably desires at a timing when the user passes infront of a vending machine.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method executed in a communication terminal,the communication terminal including a user ID for identifying a user ofthe communication terminal, the method comprising causing a computer ofthe communication terminal to perform a process comprising: acquiring,in response to receipt of a beacon signal from a vending machine ofdrinks, from the vending machine by using short-range wirelesscommunication, i) identification information for identifying the vendingmachine and ii) type information indicating types of a plurality ofdrinks stored in the vending machine; transmitting the user ID to afirst server that securely manages personal information includingpreference information on drinks of the user of the communicationterminal, wherein the preference information on drinks of the userincludes information on goods purchased by the user at a sales sitemanaged by a business operator affiliated with a management operator ofthe first server; acquiring from the first server, the preferenceinformation on drinks of the user corresponding to the user ID, when itis confirmed at the first server that the acquisition of the preferenceinformation on drinks of the user is permitted by the user; acquiringweather information of a current location of the communication terminalvia a network; generating a push notification screen, based on theidentification information, the type information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information, wherein the push notificationscreen recommends at least one drink that matches a preference of theuser indicated by the preference information in relation to weatherindicated by the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal, from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine indicated by the identification information; anddisplaying the push notification screen on a display of thecommunication terminal.
 2. The method according to claim 1, whereas thepush notification screen is used for displaying, on the display of thecommunication terminal, a purchase menu that allows the at least onedrink to be purchased from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processfurther comprises: generating, when the push notification screendisplayed on the display of the communication terminal is selected, anindividual purchase menu for the user, based on the type information,the preference information, and the weather information, wherein theindividual purchase menu displays drinks that match the preference ofthe user indicated by the preference information in according to anorder matching the preference of the user in relation to the weatherindicated by the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal, from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine indicated by the identification information; anddisplaying the individual purchase menu on the display of thecommunication terminal.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein theprocess further comprises: displaying, on the display on which the pushnotification screen is displayed, a direction indicating a transmissiondirection of the beacon signal transmitted from the vending machine. 5.The method according to claim 3, wherein the process further comprises:displaying, on the display on which the individual purchase menu isdisplayed, a direction indicating a transmission direction of the beaconsignal transmitted from the vending machine.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the process further comprises: receiving a beaconsignal from the vending machine; and erasing the display of the pushnotification screen after receipt of the beacon signal is not detectedfor a predetermined time.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal is acquired from a second server that stores the weatherinformation.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the weatherinformation of the current location of the communication terminalcomprises at least one of a temperature, a humidity, a heat index, asolar radiation, or a weather type.
 9. A communication terminal thatexecutes the method according to claim
 1. 10. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing acomputer of a communication terminal to execute the method according toclaim
 1. 11. A method executed in a communication terminal, the methodcomprising causing a computer of the communication terminal to perform aprocess comprising: acquiring, in response to receipt of a first beaconsignal from a first vending machine of drinks, from the first vendingmachine by using short-range wireless communication, i) firstidentification information for identifying the first vending machine andii) first type information indicating types of a first group of drinksstored in the first vending machine; acquiring, in response to receiptof a second beacon signal transmitted from a second vending machine,from the second vending machine by using short-range wirelesscommunication, i) second identification information for identifying thesecond vending machine and ii) second type information indicating typesof a second group of drinks stored in the second vending machine;transmitting a user ID for identifying a user of the communicationterminal to a first server that securely manages personal informationincluding preference information on drinks of the user of thecommunication terminal, wherein the preference information on drinks ofthe user includes information on goods purchased by the user at a salessite managed by a business operator affiliated with a managementoperator of the first server; acquiring from the first server, thepreference information on drinks of the user corresponding to the userID, when it is confirmed at the first server that the acquisition of thepreference information on drinks of the user is permitted by the user;acquiring weather information of a current location of the communicationterminal via a network; generating a push notification screen, based onthe first identification information, the first type information, thesecond identification information, the second type information, thepreference information, and the weather information, wherein the pushnotification screen recommends at least one drink that matches apreference of the user indicated by the preference information inrelation to weather, indicated by the weather information of the currentlocation of the communication terminal, from among the first group ofdrinks stored in the first vending machine indicated by the firstidentification information and the second group of drinks stored in thesecond vending machine indicated by the second identificationinformation; and displaying the push notification screen on a display ofthe communication terminal.
 12. The method according to claim 11,wherein the push notification screen is used for displaying, on thedisplay of the communication terminal, a purchase menu that allows theat least one drink to be purchased from among the first group of drinksstored in the first vending machine and the second group of drinksstored in the second vending machine.
 13. The method according to claim11, wherein the process further comprises: generating, when the pushnotification screen displayed on the display of the communicationterminal is selected, an individual purchase menu for the user, based onthe first type information, the second type information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information, wherein the individualpurchase menu displays drinks that match the preference of the userindicated by the preference information in according to an ordermatching the preference of the user in relation to the weather indicatedby the weather information of the current location of the communicationterminal, from among the first group of drinks stored in the firstvending machine indicated by the first identification information andthe second group of drinks stored in the second vending machineindicated by the second identification information; and displaying theindividual purchase menu on the display of the communication terminal.14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the process furthercomprises: displaying, on the display on which the push notificationscreen is displayed, at least one of a first direction indicating atransmission direction of the first beacon signal transmitted from thefirst vending machine or a second direction indicating a transmissiondirection of the second beacon signal transmitted from the secondvending machine.
 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein theprocess further comprises: when one drink is selected using theindividual purchase menu displayed on the display, displaying, on thedisplay on which the individual purchase menu is displayed, a directionindicating one vending machine storing the one drink among the firstvending machine and the second vending machine, based on a transmissiondirection of the first beacon signal or the second beacon signaltransmitted from the one vending machine.
 16. A communication terminalthat executes the method according to claim
 11. 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing acomputer of a communication terminal to execute the method according toclaim
 11. 18. A method for a vending machine management system thatmanages stock information for a vending machine of drinks, theinformation providing method comprising: acquiring, from a communicationterminal via a network, i) a user ID for identifying a user of thecommunication terminal, ii) identification information for identifyingthe vending machine, and iii) type information indicating types of aplurality of drinks stored in the vending machine, wherein ii) theidentification information and iii) the type information are acquired atthe communication terminal from the vending machine by using short-rangewireless communication in response to receipt of a beacon signal fromthe vending machine; transmitting the user ID to a first server thatsecurely manages personal information including preference informationon drinks of the user of the communication terminal, wherein thepreference information on drinks of the user includes information ongoods purchased by the user at a sales site managed by a businessoperator affiliated with a management operator of the first server;acquiring from the first server, the preference information on drinks ofthe user corresponding to the user ID, when it is confirmed at the firstserver that the acquisition of the preference information on drinks ofthe user is permitted by the user; acquiring weather information of acurrent location of the communication terminal via the network;generating information of a push notification screen, based on theidentification information, the type information, the preferenceinformation, and the weather information, wherein the push notificationscreen recommends at least one drink that matches a preference of theuser indicated by the preference information in relation to weatherindicated by the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal, from among the plurality of drinks stored in thevending machine indicated by the identification information; andoutputting the information of the push notification screen to thecommunication terminal to display the push notification screen on adisplay of the communication terminal.
 19. The method according to claim18, wherein the push notification screen is used for displaying, on thedisplay of the communication terminal, a purchase menu that allows theat least one drink to be purchased from among the plurality of drinksstored in the vending machine.
 20. The method according to claim 18,further comprising: acquiring, from the communication terminal,information indicating that the push notification screen displayed onthe display is selected; generating information of an individualpurchase menu for the user, based on the type information, thepreference information, and the weather information, wherein theindividual purchase menu for the user displays drinks that match thepreference of the user indicated by the preference information inaccording to an order matching the preference of the user in relation tothe weather indicated by the weather information of the current locationof the communication terminal, from among the plurality of drinks storedin the vending machine indicated by the identification information; andoutputting the information of the individual purchase menu to thecommunication terminal to display the individual purchase menu on thedisplay of the communication terminal.
 21. The method according to claim18, wherein the weather information of the current location of thecommunication terminal is acquired from a second server that stores theweather information.
 22. The method according to claim 18, wherein theweather information of the current location of the communicationterminal comprises at least one of a temperature, a humidity, a heatindex, a solar radiation, or a weather type.
 23. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the acquiring of the identification information and thetype information from the vending machine further comprises acquiring ofstock information indicating quantities of stock of the plurality ofdrinks stored in the vending machine, and the generating of the pushnotification screen comprises generating of the push notification screenbased on the identification information, the type information, thepreference information, the weather information and the stockinformation.
 24. The method according to claim 11, wherein the acquiringof the first identification information and the first type informationfrom the first vending machine further comprises acquiring of firststock information indicating quantities of stock of the first group ofdrinks stored in the first vending machine, the acquiring of the secondidentification information and the second type information from thesecond vending machine further comprises acquiring of second stockinformation indicating quantities of stock of the second group of drinksstored in the second vending machine, and the generating of the pushnotification screen comprises generating of the push notification screenbased on the first identification information, the first typeinformation, the second identification information, the second typeinformation, the preference information, and the weather information,the first stock information, and the second stock information.
 25. Themethod according to claim 18, wherein the acquiring of the user ID, theidentification information, and the type information from thecommunication terminal further comprises acquiring of stock informationindicating quantities of stock of the plurality of drinks stored in thebeverage vending machine, and the generating of the push notificationscreen comprises generating of the push notification screen based on theidentification information, the type information, the preferenceinformation, the weather information and the stock information.